Detecting Fake 4G Base Stations in Real Time

Presented at Black Hat USA 2020 Virtual, Aug. 5, 2020, 11 a.m. (40 minutes)

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;" data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt;">4G/LTE IMSI-catchers (such as the Hailstorm) are becoming more popular with governments and law enforcement around the world, as well as spies, and even criminals. Until now, IMSI-catcher detection has focused on 2G IMSI-catchers (such as the Stingray), despite the fact that 2G IMSI-catchers are quickly falling out of favor.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;" data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt;">In this talk, we hope to clear up myths about what modern IMSI-catchers can and can't do, based on results from recent cell network security research. We will also demonstrate software and heuristics to detect fake 4G/LTE base stations that anyone can build. We will also present an outline for the path towards fixing some of the fundamental issues in cell network security, so that hopefully IMSI-catchers are one day a thing of the past.</span></p>

Presenters:

  • Cooper Quintin - Senior Staff Technologist, Electronic Frontier Foundation
    Cooper Quintin is a security researcher and Senior Staff Technologist at EFF. He has worked on projects such as Privacy Badger, Canary Watch, and analysis of state sponsored malware. He has also performed security trainings for activists, non profit workers and ordinary folks around the world. He previously worked building websites for non-profits, such as Greenpeace, Adbusters, and the Chelsea Manning Support Network.

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