29 April 2018

Research has shown that 4G infrastructure is vulnerable to the same attacks as older, SS7-based networks.

Sparkle, the international service arm of Italy’s TIM Group, has worked with enterprise security specialist Positive Technologies on a new and full suite of security services for signalling connectivity. 

Positive Technologies says its research has shown that 4G infrastructure is vulnerable to the same attacks as older, SS7-based networks.

It says critical vulnerabilities in signalling protocols (such as Diameter and GTP) along with network configuration errors provide the means for hackers to perform attacks that can, for example, steal subscribers’ data, spy on their locations, commit fraud, and perform DoS attacks.

The Sparkle Signalling Protection Suite is claimed to be a “sophisticated” all-in-one package that detects and blocks unauthorised traffic and therefore prevents potential privacy loss, operational instability and revenue losses.

It combines Positive Technologies’ telecom security solutions with Sparkle’s connectivity and roaming services, and signalling firewall.

The companies say they will provide customers with a set of advanced security services such as vulnerability testing, best practice compliance assessment, and security monitoring for real-time detection of anomalous activities. 

According to the partners, all this offers complete protection of the entire signalling network perimeter, both national and international.

They add that “rich” analytics and reporting capabilities will also enable mobile operators to act immediately and respond to threats in real-time.