SS7 and Diameter signaling flaws can track and intercept phones
Original title: SS7 and Diameter Attacks: How Signaling Flaws Expose Your Phone
Attackers on the carrier signaling network can locate phones and redirect calls and SMS without touching the device.
SS7, used in 2G and 3G, and Diameter, used in 4G and most 5G, let carriers route calls and texts under a trust model that often lacks strong authentication. An attacker with signaling access can request an IMSI, learn a phone’s location, redirect calls and SMS, impersonate the number, or disrupt service. Citizen Lab and other reports describe commercial surveillance and theft of bank one-time codes. Carrier firewalls and travel-speed checks often fail because location data can be hours old.
Unconfirmed: Accounts of Iranian-linked targeting and many criminal uses are reported history, not a newly confirmed incident in this piece.
- Cape measured Diameter updates arriving every two to ten hours.
- Over 250 networks are reachable within one hour of travel in the US and Germany.
- Citizen Lab’s STA1 rotated through eleven operator identities in nine countries.
- A false roaming claim can redirect calls and SMS or cut off service.
Impact: Phone tracking, SMS interception, and number impersonation
- Organizations
- Citizen LabCape
From the original article
6 min read at bleepingcomputer.com
Flaws in SS7 and Diameter signaling protocols can allow attackers to track phone locations, intercept calls and SMS verification codes, and impersonate subscribers without compromising their devices. Cape explains how these attacks exploit trust between networks and how its security-focused mobile service helps defend against them. [...]
By Sponsored by Cape · bleepingcomputer.com
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