Cellular networks are high-speed, high-capacity voice and data communication networks with enhanced multimedia and seamless roaming capabilities for supporting cellular devices. With the increase in popularity of cellular devices, these networks are used for more than just entertainment and phone calls. They have become the primary means of communication for finance-sensitive business transactions, lifesaving emergencies, and life-/ mission-critical services such as E-911. These networks have become the lifeline of communications.
A breakdown in a cellular network has many adverse effects, ranging from huge economic losses due to financial transaction disruptions; loss of life due to loss of phone calls made to emergency workers; and communication outages during emergencies such as the September 11, 2001, attacks. Therefore, it is a high priority for cellular networks to function accurately.
It must be noted that it is not difficult for unscrupulous elements to break into a cellular network and cause outages. The major reason for this is that cellular networks were not designed with security in mind. They evolved from the old-fashioned telephone networks that were built for performance. To this day, cellular networks have numerous well-known and unsecured vulnerabilities providing access to adversaries. Another feature of cellular networks is network relationships (also called dependencies) that cause certain types of errors to propagate to other network locations as a result of regular network activity. Such propagation can be very disruptive to a network, and in turn it can affect subscribers. Finally, Internet connectivity to cellular networks is another major contributor to cellular networks’ vulnerability because it gives Internet users direct access to cellular network vulnerabilities from their homes.
To ensure that adversaries do not access cellular networks and cause breakdowns, a high level of security must be maintained in cellular networks. However, though great efforts have been made to improve cellular networks in terms of support for new and innovative services, greater number of subscribers, higher speed, and larger bandwidth, very little has been done to update the security of cellular networks. Accordingly, these networks have become highly attractive targets to adversaries, not only because of their lack of security but also due to the ease with which these networks can be exploited to affect millions of subscribers.
We analyze the security of cellular networks. Toward understanding the security issues in cellular networks, the rest of the chapter is organized as follows. Present a comprehensive overview of cellular networks with a goal of providing a fundamental understanding of their functioning. We present the current state of cellular network security through an in-depth discussion on cellular network vulnerabilities and possible attacks. In addition, we present a cellular network specific attack taxonomy. Finally, we present a review of current cellular network vulnerability assessment techniques and conclude with a discussion A breakdown in a cellular network has many adverse effects, ranging from huge economic losses due to financial transaction disruptions; loss of life due to loss of phone calls made to emergency workers; and communication outages during emergencies such as the September 11, 2001, attacks. Therefore, it is a high priority for cellular networks to function accurately.
It must be noted that it is not difficult for unscrupulous elements to break into a cellular network and cause outages. The major reason for this is that cellular networks were not designed with security in mind. They evolved from the old-fashioned telephone networks that were built for performance. To this day, cellular networks have numerous well-known and unsecured vulnerabilities providing access to adversaries. Another feature of cellular networks is network relationships (also called dependencies) that cause certain types of errors to propagate to other network locations as a result of regular network activity
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