The number of attacks on mobile networks increases during the pandemic

By Positive Technologies

Mobile operators are facing a significant increase in the number of attacks on their networks, according to data from Positive Technologies, a company specialized in telecommunications security. According to the company, existing vulnerabilities become even more serious amid the pandemic of the new coronavirus and the need to keep employees working connected from home.

Industry data reveals that a single operator reported a more than 100% increase in SMS phishing URLs recorded between mid-March and late April 2020. Most cases were related to the coronavirus. "During the pandemic, security measures continue to be taken, but without a broad vision of the failures that harm networks," explains Giovani Henrique, director of the company for Latin America.

A study carried out by Positive Technologies in collaboration with 28 mobile operators in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America found that mobile networks have become even more vulnerable to cyber attacks in the past three years. "This means that their clients are also more exposed to risks," says Henrique. In the executive's vision, security should be a priority of the network project. "This is now more valid than ever, as operators are tasked with keeping services running during the pandemic," he notes.

Vulnerabilities that can be exploited by invaders include tracking every move of a client, listening to calls, intercepting SMS messages, usurping digital identities and even interrupting the operator's service through denial of service attacks (DoS, in its acronym in English). “In the current scenario, a DoS is much more serious than a slow Internet connection, since it can eventually interrupt the medical treatment of various people affected by the coronavirus. Failure to receive SMSs from the local government (s) with pandemic alerts is also another example,” warns Henrique.

To adequately avoid signaling threats, especially during the pandemic, Henrique stresses that traffic that exceeds network limits must be constantly monitored and analyzed, and potential threats and configuration errors must be identified. For this, operators require the use of special systems that analyze signal traffic in real time and detect illegitimate activities from external hosts.

These solutions block illegitimate messages without affecting the performance of the network or the availability of the subscriber. "This will make operators protect subscribers during this period when reliable telecommunications services are so critical throughout the world to assist in fighting the pandemic," he concludes.

“Attempts to implement security in mobile signaling networks at later stages may be expensive. Operators will probably have to invest in other elements. In the worst case scenario, they will have different types of long-term security vulnerabilities that they will not be able to correct later, creating a low-quality image of the services provided,” he said.

About Positive Technologies

Positive Technologies is a global cyber security company, based in Europe. Your telecommunications computer security solution helps network operators improve their business performance and protect their customers and services. Offering increased visibility into infrastructure vulnerabilities and ensuring customer services, Positive Technologies helps increase customer confidence, drive revenue with value-added security services, and protect emerging telecommunications technologies such as 5G and IoT.

This is a machine translation of the original press release issued in Spanish.