Scribd
Upload
6 views

43 Cellular Network Security Part1-1

The document discusses wireless cellular network security, focusing on 2G and 3G technologies like GSM and UMTS. It outlines the architecture of cellular networks, including components such as base stations and mobile switching centers, and highlights the security goals of authentication, integrity, and confidentiality. Key security features include the use of Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) to protect user identity and prevent tracking.

Uploaded by

raghuvardhan41
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
6 views

43 Cellular Network Security Part1-1

The document discusses wireless cellular network security, focusing on 2G and 3G technologies like GSM and UMTS. It outlines the architecture of cellular networks, including components such as base stations and mobile switching centers, and highlights the security goals of authentication, integrity, and confidentiality. Key security features include the use of Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) to protect user identity and prevent tracking.

Uploaded by

raghuvardhan41
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 11

Wireless Cellular Network Security: Part 1

Gaurav S. Kasbekar
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
IIT Bombay
References
• B.L. Menezes, R. Kumar, “Cryptography, Network
Security, and Cyber Laws”, Cengage Learning India
Pvt. Ltd., 2018
• T.S. Rappaport, “Wireless Communications:
Principles and Practice”, Prentice Hall of India, 2nd
ed, 2002.
Recall: Wide-Area Wireless Access
• Cellular networks (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G)
❑Internet and telephone connectivity in mobile phones
throughout large region (e.g., city)
• Speeds: few 10s of Mbps to several Gbps
• Wireless: shared medium
❑MAC protocol needed
• Deployed by cellular operators (e.g., Airtel, Vi)
• Spectrum needs to be licensed from regulator
❑costly, but exclusive access
Recall: Cellular Network Architecture

• Region (e.g., city) divided into small areas called


“cells”
❑typically cell radius < 5 km
• Each cell served by one BS
Recall: Frequency Reuse

• Same set of frequencies used at far-apart


cells without mutual interference
• Increases capacity of system
2G and 3G Cellular Networks
• One of the most popular second-generation (2G) cellular networks:
❑ Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)
• Provided several advantages over analog (1G) cellular networks:
❑ Better voice quality
❑ Higher speeds for data and other non-voice applications
❑ International roaming
• From a security viewpoint: was designed to protect against:
❑ Eavesdropping
❑ Intruder masquerading as a legitimate mobile phone user
• Successor to GSM was Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
(UMTS), a 3G technology
• UMTS provided advanced services, e.g.:
❑ mobile Internet
❑ multimedia messaging
❑ videoconferencing, etc.
• Security provided in GSM is significantly better than that in 1G cellular
networks
• However, GSM security still had several shortcomings, which were
overcome in UMTS networks
• Next: we study the security mechanisms available in both 2G and 3G
2G and 3G Network Architecture
• Cellphone is wirelessly connected to a base station or base transceiver
station (BTS)
• Multiple BTSs are, in turn, connected to and controlled by a base station
controller (BSC)
❑ connection between a BTS and its controller BSC could be a microwave link,
optical link, etc.
• Multiple BSCs are connected
to a Mobile Switching Centre
(MSC)
• MSC forwards an incoming
call to the MSC where the call
recipient is located
• MSC also handles call billing
and accounting functions
• MSCs connected to each
other through wired networks
such as Packet Switched
Telephone Network (PSTN)
2G and 3G Network Architecture (contd.)
• A user’s home network is the one with whom the user has a subscription
❑ “a network” is the part of the overall network managed by a particular MSC
• MSC has a database containing information about each of its subscribers:
❑ called Home Location Register (HLR)
• This information includes static information, e.g.:
❑subscriber’s mobile number,
services subscribed to
❑secret key stored in the
mobile and known only to the
HLR
• HLR also contains dynamic
information for each of its
roaming subscribers
❑ this includes current
location of a subscriber, i.e.,
the cellular network the
user may be currently
visiting
2G and 3G Network Architecture (contd.)
• A subscriber may avail of the services of other (“foreign”) networks that have a roaming
agreement with the subscriber’s home network
• Each cellular network also maintains a database of users currently visiting that network
together with the list of services the subscriber is entitled to
❑ referred to as Visitor Location Register (VLR)
• 2G technology introduced the idea of a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card
❑ A smart card that can be removed from one cellphone and placed in another
• SIM card stores three secrets and performs cryptographic operations involving some of
these secrets
• The secrets are:
❑ A unique 15-digit subscriber identification
number called the International Mobile
Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
❑ A 128-bit subscriber authentication key,
𝐾𝑖 , known only to the SIM and the HLR of
the subscriber’s home network
❑ A PIN known to the phone’s owner and
used to unlock the SIM
o Intended to prevent stolen phones from
being used
o This feature rarely used in practice
2G and 3G Security Goals
• Main security goals in GSM and UMTS are similar to those in wired
networks, viz., authentication, integrity, and confidentiality
• User identity confidentiality:
❑ One way for an eavesdropper to identify a caller is through the IMSI
transmitted by the cellphone when a call is made
❑ To protect user privacy, GSM requires that the IMSI be used rarely, e.g.,
during initial authentication to a foreign network
❑ Instead, a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) is assigned to a
user
❑ TMSI has limited-time validity and, that too, only within a particular
network
❑ When a user changes location and moves to a new network, the user’s
cellphone will have to be re-authenticated and a new TMSI assigned
❑ Mapping between a cellphone’s TMSI and its IMSI is maintained in the
VLR
❑ Unlike the IMSI, which is a fixed subscriber ID, the TMSI is a random
integer and its use is temporary
❑ Hence, use of TMSI instead of IMSI helps prevent tracking of cellphone
users
2G and 3G Security Goals (contd.)
• Message Confidentiality:
❑user data messages and some signalling messages need
to be kept confidential
• Entity Authentication:
❑MSC needs to be sure that the call is billed to the person
making the call
❑Also, caller needs to convince itself that it is talking to
the genuine base station
• Message Integrity:
❑message integrity of signalling messages exchanged
between the cellphone and the base station need to be
achieved

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy