AdaptiveMobile ‘sees’ sophisticated attacks on signalling networks over five continents
In new research released during Mobile World Congress 2018, AdaptiveMobile presented the industry’s first ever overview of real-life attacks launched over the Diameter protocol.
“This research is the final piece of intel that will drive mobile operators to put defences in place to protect their networks against attacks over Diameter. Diameter vulnerabilities were theoretical up until now; however, this new research clearly demonstrates that they are actually being exploited in the real world, meaning the risk is real and must be addressed,” said Cathal Mc Daid, Chief Intelligence Officer of AdaptiveMobile Security.
To acquire these insights, the AdaptiveMobile performed analysis of international Diameter traffic from ten operators’ networks worldwide and found suspicious activity within them. The research conducted analysed Diameter traffic travelling to and from more than 80 countries across five continents and detected a range of malicious activity, from simple to complex, over Diameter networks, affecting both mobile subscribers and mobile networks.
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“Most importantly, carriers need to understand what is being detected and cannot rely on simple categorisation or rules to decipher what is malicious activity and what is not.” Mc Daid continued: “The threat is now proven, but without an added layer of intelligence, malicious traffic will be hidden in amongst the noise. This is critical, as Diameter use widens and SS7 security improves we expect rogue actors to exploit Diameter more and more.”
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AdaptiveMobile has been working with operator networks around the globe to analyse their SS7 network data since launching its Signalling Protection in 2015. The Diameter protocol is the next-generation in signalling networks and as service providers roll out IP-based LTE networks – which present an evolved threat landscape – there is a growing demand for broader signalling protection on both SS7 and Diameter networks.
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