FEATURE: MOBILE SECURITY
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As cutting-edge technologies
are introduced to the market,
security concerns develop
accordingly and using
security as a criteria for
quality will enable operators
to remain competitive.
Experts outline some of
the greatest risks facing 5G
networks as they begin to
launch around the world.
P
ositive Technologies has released
its report, 5G Network Security:
Vulnerabilities Old and New, which
outlines some of the greatest risks
facing 5G networks as they begin to launch
around the world. 5G promises superfast
connection speeds, ultra-low latency and greater
capacity which represent huge opportunities for
operators to transform their businesses, allowing
them to offer new services and generate
revenue through previously unavailable means
of monetisation. However, these opportunities
will be accompanied by risks.
Positive Technologies experts pioneered
research into telecom security. The company
was the first to discover the security issues
associated with SS7 back in 2014, showing how
such flaws could be exploited for everything
from remotely intercepting phone calls, to
bypassing 2FA for access to social media
profiles. With its deep knowledge of the latest
5G networks, the report outlines what is known
about the standardisation and architecture
of 5G networks, and what security issues
could come to the fore as a result.
Vulnerabilities inherited from
legacy networks
Positive Technologies experts highlight
that many 5G networks will have known
vulnerabilities from day one, due to the
fact they rely on existing 4G infrastructure.
According to 3GPP Release 15 for 5G which
came out in summer 2018, the first wave
of 5G networks and devices is classified
as Non-Standalone (NSA). In other words,
devices will connect to 5G frequencies for
data transmission when needing greater
bandwidth and lower latency (such as for
communication between smart cars), or to
reduce power draw on IoT-enabled devices,
but will still rely on 4G and even 2G/3G
networks for voice calls and SMS messaging.
Therefore, at least during the transition
period, future 5G networks will inherit all the
vulnerabilities of previous generations. Every
diameter-based 4G network examined in a
recent security audit was found to contain
vulnerabilities which hackers could exploit
to perform a range of illegal actions, such as
locating users, intercepting SMS messages
and instigating denial of service (DoS)
attacks. This means the first 5G networks will
remain vulnerable to these attacks. Jimmy
Jones, Telecom Business Development
Lead, said: “Operators and equipment
manufacturers alike have a unique chance
to avoid repeating the mistakes of previous
generations, where network security
issues had to be resolved on the fly in
active infrastructure. Acutely aware of the
vulnerabilities that may lay ahead, they can
Experts discuss
5G launching with
security flaws
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