5G security flaws
On Wednesday 16 October, at the 10th Berec Forum in Brussels, the european telecoms decision-makers' fair, Norwegian computer scientist Olav Lysne told a hundred IT and IT security specialists: "5G is the most critical cyber infrastructure ever created. It will depend on the safety of all the others. »
Only a few months before its launch, it was discovered that 5G was not that extraordinary. indeed it seems that this new technology already has more than 11 security flaws. The 5G protocol is vulnerable.
This article will also interest you: 5G and the concerns of European leaders
According to cybersecurity researchers, the security vulnerabilities discovered could allow a hacker to spy on communication, SMS, and the geographic location of anyone who subscribes to this technology. According to them, many of the defects attributable to 5G actually come from its predecessors, including 3G and 4G.
The discovery was made by researchers at Purdue University and the University of Iowa. researchers were able to collect some of the personal security information discovered. As a result, they were able to intercept phone calls and even check the text messages received by the 5G-connected terminal. In addition, they managed to demote the terminal tested on the old networks for mobile data. Use the hacked phone for Internet browsing and even make financial transactions by inflating the bill.
In the rest of their research they discovered 5 other vulnerabilities that were already present in 3G and 4G. "Given that many 4G and 3G security vulnerabilities have been adopted by 5G, it is also likely that the vulnerabilities of previous generations are also inherited by 5G. The new features of 5G have not yet been rigorously evaluated for security," said Syed Rafiul Hussain, one of the researchers at Purdue University.
Looking back a little bit, we know that last February, other computer security specialists had already spotted security flaws on the 5G technology they called Torpedo. This vulnerability would allow a hacker to accurately have information related to the location of the targeted smartphone as well as a unique identifier associated with a user called the IMSI number.
In October 2018, it was the turn of researchers affiliated with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, specifically the Information Safe, group, who warned that 5G could prove terrible for the privacy and privacy of its users.
questionable whether these vulnerabilities will be addressed corrected before the deployment of 5G, Syed Rafiul Hussain, the Purdue University responds that some security flaws can easily be plugged before the deployment of the network, scheduled for 2020 or two months from now. however there are some others, the correction of which will require "a significant amount of reasonable change in protocol."
To do this, they will warn the association of operators and 800 members, the GSMA (GSM Association). The body for its part, to decide by stating that the vulnerability associated with the protocol "zero or low in practice."
Therefore, there is no indication that the security flaw will be fixed before the 5G network is deployed. Is this risk worth it?
Now access an unlimited number of passwords:
