Evaluation of LTE LTE A network security

Document Type:Thesis

Subject Area:Computer Science

Document 1

These advanced services are all based on internet protocol (IP) architecture which facilitates the high speeds, stability, and better performance but are more likely and susceptible to security threats both new and old. It is therefore key to understand the IP architecture used in the LTE/LTE-A which will give an idea of how the security threats can be handled and managed. And also, the technology progresses, LTE is seen to morph into LTE advanced pro which is the future and offers even higher bandwidths and cellular speeds with high network security for streaming and sharing of large and heavy content. This is as a result of the continued understanding, experimentation and testing of these network technologies. The need to understand the current and new threats facing LTE/LTE-A networks required thorough and extensive data collection and analysis which is the prerequisite to ensure these networks are safe in managing all our data access and transfer requirements as cellular network users.

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First generation (1G) This cellular network technology came after the 0G as an improved analog technology to the mobile telephone system (MTS) and its variations together with the radiotelephone. From 0G, came the first generation that utilizes analog signals within its communication spectrum. This cellular network was referred to as total access communication system (TACS) in Europe and the rest of the world except North America where it was the analog mobile phone systems (AMPS). The principle behind the 1G cellular network entails a technology known as circuit-switch. The cellular network only transmitted voice as modulation and not data as well as roaming. The signals if the second generation was at a large frequency of up to 200KHz making cellular networks services much faster, efficient and secure.

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This led to an even rapid increase in subscribers and the improvising of value-added services from the digital technology. The basis of 2G technology was the global system for mobile communication (GSM). This technology defined the second generation of cellular wireless networks and incorporated the use of digital modulation at high frequency and speed for improved quality of voice and data transfer [2]. Coverage was increased and additional services created such as text messaging, fax, paging. This generation can be described as the age of internet access using wireless cellular networks at very high speeds [1]. The generation has two types namely the 3G partnership project for wideband CDMA standard (3GPP) that is 3G which is compatible to 2G GSM network type and the 3G partnership project for CDMA-2000 standard (3GPP-2) that is 3G which is compatible with 2G CDMA type of network technology.

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This ability of 3G cellular networks to downgrade results from the downlinking of the frequencies used whether in the direct spreading of data signals or when multi-carrier and upload link frequencies used to support the instantaneous and simultaneous use of both the direct spreading and multi-carrier upload link as a combination. Radio channels are still used for transmission but at higher frequency bandwidths compared to previous generations with current data rates reaching 2Mbps [1]. The network is secure from current threats but imminent future threats might pose risks on data shared across the internet. It is the future of telecommunications expected to commence in 2020. Radio access technology (RAT) for this would be new, built upon existing ones but modified and evolved from features and wireless technologies such as GSM, LTE, HSPA, and Wi-Fi.

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The generation aims at creating "zero-distance" between connected users and devices. The wireless networks aim at supporting of 1000-fold gain in terms of capacity connections where at least 100 billion new devices can access the network and transfer data up to 10 Gbps. Users of the network may also be able to access the network at extremely low latency and slower response time without noticing [1]. These attacks are numerous and vary depending on the network framework. The attacks can be classified in terms of access of the cellular network, or attacks on the core network, attacks on IMS and attacks on end-user equipment. This paper primarily focuses on attacks on the access network such as the disclosure of the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), location tracking, radio frequency jamming, spoofing and sniffing, dos/DDoS attacks, de-synchronization attacks, rogue base station attacks and other attacks such as the replay attacks and eavesdropping attacks.

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The other focus is on vulnerability to attacks on the core network such as dos/DDoS attacks, and insider attacks [3]. Mobile malware is a precursor of the LTE/LTE-A wireless network security vulnerability. From the above, data collection and thorough analysis, countermeasures are critically formulated to curb the specific attacks on the LTE/LTE-A networks which may entail actions like RF jamming, managing signaling attacks, detection of abnormal SIP messages, VoLTE spamming attack detection, SMS spamming detection, and mobile botnet detection. Conclusion With the understanding of how wireless cellular networks developed over time, and the understanding of the architecture used in each generation of cellular networks such as the communication spectrum targeted, the modulation technique used, the network speed with bandwidth utilization together with the medium access control mechanism used, it is evident to see how each generation made communication possible and was an improvement over the previous generation.

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Voice and data communication became faster with the increase in use by subscribers and companies who required the services created by the cellular networks to facilitate communication at all scales, data transfer, and management. But with improved technology and diversified architecture of modern generation wireless networks such as the LTE/LTE-A network, security risks and imminent and it is therefore key to understand the architecture used, the services provided, the data transfers and the risks and threats involved to formulate countermeasures which will safeguard the data and also give rise to a future wireless network which is faster and more secure. References [1] Ahmed Suliman, Khalid Hamid & Amin Babiker, “Comparison between cellular Generations,” March 2015, International Journal of Engineering, Applied and Management Sciences Paradigms, Vol.

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