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A Review of the Insecurities Associated with 4G Cellular Data Networks and the Potential Repercussions for its Future SuccessorsPresented by Scott Stappard

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UK mobile statistics

• Ofcom facts and figures 2014

• 93% adults have access to a mobile device

• 61% of these devices are ‘smart phones’

• 83.1 million mobile subscriptions

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What is a mobile network?

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(Mobile)

Base Station User DeviceAir Interface

Data broadcast from base station

Data broadcast from user device

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• The First Generation

• Commonly referred to as 1G

• First seen 1979 in metropolitan zones throughout Japan

• Lack of encryption support

• Inefficient use of the radio spectrum

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Evolutionary steps to a modern network

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• The Second Generation

• Commercially available from early 1990’s

• Use of digitised signals

• Better encryption / spectrum efficiency

• Regional / local standards & regulations

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Evolutionary steps to a modern network

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• The Third Generation

• Development began in the 1980’s• Undertaken by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)• Future Public Land Mobile Telecommunication System (FPLMTS)• International Mobile Telecommunication 2000 (IMT-2000)

• Utilisation of a universal standard

• Upkeep undertaken by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)

• Better utilisation of universally accepted bandwidth

• Allowed the development of smart devices

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Evolutionary steps to a modern network

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• 3G Plus

• Twice the speed of initial 3G networks

• Examples included• Evolved High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+)• Long-Term Evolution (LTE)• Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)

• After pressure on ITU can be marketed as 4G

• Also Known as 3.5G, Pre 4G

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Is it really 4G your getting?

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‘True 4G’ the real fourth generation • Have to meet requirements outlined in IMT-Advanced

• Minimum data transfer rate of 1 gigabit per second

• Uses Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology• Increases spectrum efficiency • Much faster data transfer rate

• Utilise Cooperative Multipoint (CoMP) transmission• Allows users to be continuously connected

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Older networks and single input single output

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(Mobile)

Base Station Antenna User Device Antenna

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Newer networks and Multiple Input Multiple Output

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(Mobile)

Base Station Antennas User Device Antennas

Data sent in parallel

Effectively doubling the data transfer rate

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Overview of CoMP

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(Mobile)

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Dangers and issues associated with 4G networks• Fake base stations

• AKA inceptors / IMSI catchers

• Tracking a moving target

• Denial of service attacks

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Fake base stations

• Technological development meant they could be smaller and cheaper

• Used to capture International Mobile Subscriber Identity

• But now capable of intercepting voice calls and messages

• Act as a man in the middle attack (MitM)

• Technology has became know as ‘stingray’

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Real life issues with ISMI catchers

• The increased functionality of mobile devices• Browse the web• Send emails• Stream high quality media (video chat)• Send phone calls / SMS messages / MMS messages

• Not unbelievable for private and confidential information to be sent

• Data is broadcast from user device and intercepted

• Malicious third party has access to this information

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Tracking a user device via handoff signals

• Devices by default automatically connect to a base station that is in range

• Handover signals are transmitted when in range of new base station

• Could potentially be used to track a user device

• Potential used by a number of partys• Malicious vs non-malicious

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Denial of Service attacks

• Aims to make a network unavailable to its users

• Disrupts the air interface

• Can be intentional or unintentional

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The development of 5G

• Planed for the year 2020

• Standard development lead by Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA)

• Minimum speed of 1-10 Gigabits Per Second

• Potential use mmWave Massive MIMO technology

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Massive MIMO

• 100+ antenna per base station

• Large number of simultaneous connections to one base station

• Spectrum efficiency vastly increased

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mmWave bandwidth

• Extremely high frequency bandwidths used • 30GHz – 300GHz

• Newly technological advances can make use of these bandwidths

• Smaller network components are needed to fully utilize EHF bandwidths

• Base stations going to cover a maximum of 200m

• Base stations will be placed more frequently potential on every street

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Spatial multiplexing

• Divides outgoing signal where each part is broadcast in parallel

• Uses the same radio frequency

• Lower cost / lower energy requirements

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Beamforming

• Concentrated signal is moved to follow user device

• This is done by changing signal strength of the antennas

• More efficient but less energy efficient

• Allows a user access to stronger signals

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Beamforming

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Beamforming

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Aggravated issues

• More base stations covering the same area

• Need to be within 200m to spot fake mast

• Easier to track a device to smaller geographical location

• mmWave know to be disrupted by meteorological changes• Potential easier to disrupt than lower bandwidths

• Nothing is certain still 5 years for new technological advances

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What can be done to protect yourself?• Anti Stingray applications can be used to detect ISMI Catchers

• Do not automatically connect to bases stations

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How will 5G effect the future

• Virtual reality / augmented reality • Not just used in gaming • Manufacturing and medical applications

• Self driving / connected cars• Connect to traffic management services• Pin point if your near a traffic jam • Full automated cars

• Wireless Cloud-Based Offices• Already present with 4G systems• Decreased latency advances the concept

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How will 5G effect the future

• Machine to Machine (Internet of Things) / Connected homes• Smart device linking to each other via 5G• Number of world wide devices set to hit 1-2 billion• Smart meters, smart thermostats, smoke alarms

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Questions?

Contact: L1031071@live.tees.ac.uk