Security Analysis of First Responder Mobile and Wearable Devices

Published

May 11, 2020

Author(s)

Joshua M. Franklin, Gema Howell, Scott Ledgerwood, Jaydee Griffith

Abstract

Public safety practitioners utilizing the forthcoming Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) will have smartphones, tablets and wearables at their disposal. Although these devices should enable first responders to complete their missions, any influx of new technologies will introduce new security vulnerabilities. This document analyzes the needs of public safety mobile devices and wearables from a cybersecurity perspective, specifically for the fire service, emergency medical service (EMS), and law enforcement. To accomplish this goal, cybersecurity use cases were analyzed, previously known attacks against related systems were reviewed, and a threat model was created. The overarching goal of this work is to identify security objectives for these devices, enabling jurisdictions to more easily select and purchase secure devices and industry to design and build more secure public safety devices.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 8196

Report Number

8196

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

DOI Link

Keywords

cybersecurity, first responders, internet of things, IoT, mobile security, public safety, wearables

Citation

Franklin, J. , Howell, G. , Ledgerwood, S. and Griffith, J. (2020), Security Analysis of First Responder Mobile and Wearable Devices, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8196 (Accessed October 28, 2025)