Related papers: Unprotected 4G/5G Control Procedures at Low Layers…
As 3GPP systems have strengthened security at the upper layers of the cellular stack, plaintext PHY and MAC layers have remained relatively understudied, though interest in them is growing. In this work, we explore lower-layer exploitation…
To more effectively control and allocate network resources, MAC CE has been introduced into the network protocol, which is a type of control signaling located in the MAC layer. Since MAC CE lacks encryption and integrity protection…
Privacy concerns around 5G, the latest generation of mobile networks, are growing, with fears that its deployment may increase exposure to privacy risks. This perception is largely driven by the use of denser deployments of small antenna…
Ensuring user privacy remains a critical concern within mobile cellular networks, particularly given the proliferation of interconnected devices and services. In fact, a lot of user privacy issues have been raised in 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE…
As 5G networks become more mainstream, privacy has come to the forefront of end users. More scrutiny has been shown to previous generation cellular technologies such as 3G and 4G on how they handle sensitive metadata transmitted from an end…
This paper discusses cellular network security for unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and provides insights into the ongoing Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standardization efforts with respect to authentication and authorization,…
The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) released its first 5G security specifications in March 2018. This paper reviews the 5G security architecture, requirements and main processes and evaluates them in the context of known and new…
5G has undergone significant changes in its over-the-air control channel architecture compared to legacy networks, aimed at enhancing performance. These changes have unintentionally strengthened the security of control channels, reducing…
In this work, we propose a novel framework to identify and mitigate a recently disclosed covert channel scheme exploiting unprotected broadcast messages in cellular MAC layer protocols. Examples of covert channel are used in data…
In fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks, users feed back to the base station the index of the precoder (from a codebook) to be used for downlink transmission. The precoder is strongly related to the user channel and in turn to the user…
Cellular networks represent a critical infrastructure and their security is thus crucial. 5G - the latest generation of cellular networks - combines different technologies to increase capacity, reduce latency, and save energy. Due to its…
The fifth generation of wireless cellular networks (5G) is expected to be the infrastructure for emergency services, natural disasters rescue, public safety, and military communications. 5G, as any previous wireless cellular network, is…
Modern applications are end-to-end encrypted to prevent data from being read or secretly modified. 5G tech nology provides ubiquitous access to these applications without compromising the application-specific performance and latency goals.…
Mobile networks are essential for modern societies. The most recent generation of mobile networks will be even more ubiquitous than previous ones. Therefore, the security of these networks as part of the critical infrastructure with…
The heterogeneous cellular network (HCN) is a promising approach to the deployment of 5G cellular networks. This paper comprehensively studies physical layer security in a multi-tier HCN where base stations (BSs), authorized users and…
Mobile communication systems now constitute an essential part of life throughout the world. Fourth generation "Long Term Evolution" (LTE) mobile communication networks are being deployed. The LTE suite of specifications is considered to be…
Commercial cellular telecommunications networks are routinely used as key means of voice and data transport by both businesses and the Public. Despite advances in encryption and other security measures, these commercial cellular networks…
5G cellular systems are slowly being deployed worldwide delivering the promised unprecedented levels of throughput and latency to hundreds of millions of users. At such scale security is crucial, and consequently, the 5G standard includes a…
The decoupling of data and control planes, as proposed for 5G networks, will enable the efficient implementation of multitier networks where user equipment (UE) nodes obtain coverage and connectivity through the top-tier macro-cells, and,…
Mission critical communication (MCC) involves the exchange of information and data among emergency services, including the police, fire brigade, and other first responders, particularly during emergencies, disasters, or critical incidents.…