"4G Networks Vulnerable to Denial of Service Attacks, Subscriber Tracking"

Researchers at Positive Technologies published a report focussed on the Diameter protocol used to exchange authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) information in LTE networks. The report highlights findings from the analysis of 28 telecommunication operators' networks in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America between 2018 and 2019. It was discovered that every 4G network is vulnerable to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks due to the architectural flaws contained by the Diameter protocol. According to researchers, attackers can modify sources and execute these DoS attacks because many networks do not authenticate a subscriber's location using GSMA signaling or check the origin network from which a subscriber receives signaling messages. Other forms of attacks, involving the circumvention of restrictions implemented by operators, SMS interception, and more, were also proven successful against 4G networks. The researchers pointed out that security weaknesses will continue in the 5G era as 5G networks are built based on the existing architecture and Diameter protocol. This article continues to discuss the vulnerability of 4G networks to DoS attacks, subscriber location tracking, and information theft. 

ZDNet reports "4G Networks Vulnerable to Denial of Service Attacks, Subscriber Tracking"