Security Flaws of The Ever-Growing Signalling System

 Security Flaws of The Ever-Growing Signalling System 7

What is SS7?

Signalling System (SS7) is a transnational telecommunication protocol standard that defines how the network rudiments in public switched telephone networks (PSTN) exchange information and control signals.

Post the rearmost modification of the SS7 standard in 1993, as a transnational standard SS7 was first embraced in 1988. The current standard for telephone calls is still SS7 and it is applicable for both landlines as well as for mobile phone service also including 5G.

SS7 network carries nodules in them which are called signaling points. The SS7 system controls the billing and routing system of telephone calls and enables advanced calling features and Short Communication Service (SMS). The same system may also be called Signalling System No. 7 or Common Channel Signalling System 7, or CCSS7.

Is it possible to hack SS7?

As well researched by telecom experts it’s not impossible to hack the SS7 network. All in all, the requirement is only a computer running Linux and the SS7 SDK and they both are free to download through the internet. Once a hacker has taken access to the SS7 network the targeting of subscribers is not that tough.

It gets easy to forward calls with equal access to hear them and record them. SMS dispatches transferred between phones can be read and the position of a phone using the same system that the phone networks use to help keep a constant service available can be tracked.

Is SS7 secure?

No, SS7 is not secure as the SS7 security flaws attacks exploit the authentication capability of communication protocols. Also, the mobile cyber-attacks that exploit security vulnerabilities in the SS7 protocol to jeopardize and block voice and SMS dispatches on a cellular network analogous to a Man in the Middle attack. Basically, SS7 avoids wifi transmissions and raids the target mobile phone dispatches.

The telecommunications(telecom) assiduity developed Signalling System 7 before digital encryption and authentication were extensively espoused. This means that SS7 dispatches and services can be fluently heeded in on and forged.

SS7 network is an unrestricted system with Primary security that allows only telecom drivers to have access to it. End druggies and utmost hackers cannot pierce the system. Unfortunately, telecom providers operating as bad actors or governmental agencies with legal access have unrestricted access to all the information available in the SS7 network. Nothing stops unresistant exploitation in the case of SS7 although, telecom providers can also cover the SS7 network for intruding and identifying them.

The trouble actors get unknown access to stoner information with the rich point set given and zero security of SS7. It also gives governments the capability to track mobile druggies' locales anywhere in the world, indeed without the use of the Global Positioning System.

Thanks to the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) the calls are encrypted over the air. We can request the decryption key from the SS7 network for later decryption also. Unencrypted SMS dispatches can be fluently read and are transferred over the SS7 network is called an SS7 inquiry or transnational mobile subscriber identity catcher. Call forwarding to deflect calls or SMS multifactor authentication canons to steal from bank accounts have been used by the Attackers.

Is SS7 used in LTE?

SS7 is the foundation in 2G/ 3G circuit switch networks for signaling whereas For 4G LTE and VoLTE packet networks and IP Multimedia Subsystem(IMS) grounded systems and is crucial to enabling new profit-generating IP services diameter was introduced. The result of SS7 & Diameter Signaling helps  MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) to introduce Diameter-based signaling capabilities without removing and replacing heritage structures. Combining Signaling Transfer Point(STP) and Diameter Signaling Controller( DSC) functionalities on the same signaling routing platform helps to cover one's investments. As a result, it supports heritage SS7 networks while migrating to LTE/ EPC/ Diameter networks.

Overcoming SS7 Security Flaws

Since the exposure of security holes Within the SS7 Map system, since the time security holes have been exposed, certain bodies, including the mobile phone operators’ trade association. For displacement and mishandling of the signaling system, GSMA has set up a series of services that cover the networks.

Mobile phone networks have also employed security contractors, including the German security experimenter, Kirsten Nohl, who uncovered the excrescence in 2014 and demonstrated it for 60 Minutes, to perform a deep analysis of the SS7 systems in use.

Still, there has been nothing as a hack- evidence but their success will probably be on a network-by-network basis. Recently, there has been a security testing of SS7 Security Flaws reported by a driver in Luxembourg, Norway’s largest network driver offline for over three hours due to an “unanticipated external SS7 event”. looking at the SS7 Security growth, penetrability, and the possibility of observing druggies counting on systems outside of stoner control, the reality is that we can do but use the services.

For textbook dispatches, avoiding SMS and rather using translated messaging services like Apple’s iMessage, Facebook’s WhatsApp or the numerous others available will allow you to shoot and admit instant dispatches without going through the SMS network, guarding them against surveillance.

A voice-over data caring service for calls is preferred to be much more advantageous in comparison to a voice call network that can lead to call manipulation. Messaging services including WhatsApp permit calls. Secure voice dispatches are also allowed by The open-source Signal app or end-to-end translated Phone service. The time when your mobile is ON your position is easy enough to be tracked. The only solution to avoid this can be to turn off the phone or its connection.