Abstract
The privacy of information transmitted between user equipment and radio nodes in 5G networks is preserved using encrypted channels. However, this single point of failure would expose the identities and, potentially, locations of network users if a vulnerability were to be discovered and exploited.
This chapter presents a consensus algorithm that adds an additional layer of defense in the 5G standard. The algorithm leverages access to the 5G control network by multiple radio nodes in an administrative area to control the mobility of agents that can connect with user equipment. The algorithm is designed to decrease the likelihood of privacy violations by an international mobile subscriber identity catcher should a vulnerability be found in the 5G-AKA protocol. The algorithm is formalized using the \(\pi \)-calculus to create a contextual integrity property, and is verified using \(\pi \)-calculus equivalence relations.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Basin, D., Dreier, J., Hirschi, L., Radomirovic, S., Sasse, R., Stettler, V.: A formal analysis of 5G authentication. In: Proceedings of the ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security, pp. 1383–1396 (2018)
Borgaonkar, R., Hirschi, L., Park, S., Shaik, A.: New privacy threat on 3G, 4G and upcoming 5G-AKA protocols. Proc. Privacy Enhanc. Technol. 2019(3), 108–127 (2019)
Cremers, C., Dehnel-Wild, M.: Component-based formal analysis of 5G-AKA: channel assumptions and session confusion. In: Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth Network and Distributed Systems Security Symposium (2019)
Dabrowski, A., Petzl, G., Weippl, E.R.: The messenger shoots back: network operator based IMSI catcher detection. In: Monrose, F., Dacier, M., Blanc, G., Garcia-Alfaro, J. (eds.) RAID 2016. LNCS, vol. 9854, pp. 279–302. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45719-2_13
Dabrowski, A., Pianta, N., Klepp, T., Mulazzani, M., Weippl, E.: IMSI - catch me if you can: IMSI-catcher-catchers. In: Proceedings of the Thirtieth Annual Computer Security Applications Conference, pp. 246–255 (2014)
European Telecommunications Standards Institute, 5G. Procedures for the 5G System, ETSI Technical Specification 23.502, version 15.2.0, release 15, Sophia Antipolis (2018)
European Telecommunications Standards Institute, 5G. NR; Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification, ETSI Technical Specification 38.331, version 15.3.0, release 15, Sophia Antipolis (2018)
European Telecommunications Standards Institute. Digital Cellular Telecommunications System (Phase 2+) (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); LTE; 3GPP System Architecture Evolution (SAE); Security Architecture, ETSI Technical Specification 33.401, version 15.7.0, release 15, Sophia Antipolis (2019)
Jover, R.: The Current State of Affairs in 5G Security and the Main Remaining Security Challenges. arxiv.org/abs/1904.08394v2 (2019)
Khan, M., Ginzboorg, P., Järvinen, K., Niemi, V.: Defeating the downgrade attack on identity privacy in 5G. In: Cremers, C., Lehmann, A. (eds.) SSR 2018. LNCS, vol. 11322, pp. 95–119. Springer, Cham (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04762-7_6
Milner, R.: Communicating and Mobile Systems: The \(\pi \)-Calculus. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1999)
Milner, R., Parrow, J., Walker, D.: A calculus of mobile processes, II. Inf. Comput. 100(1), 41–77 (1992)
Morrissey, C.: Windows quality updates primer, Microsoft IT Pro Blog, 21 July 2021
Park, S., Shaik, A., Borgaonkar, R., Seifert, J.: Anatomy of commercial IMSI catchers and detectors. In: Proceedings of the Eighteenth ACM Workshop on Privacy in the Electronic Society, pp. 74–86 (2019)
Sangiorgi, D., Walker, D.: The Pi-Calculus: A Theory of Mobile Processes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2003)
Shaik, A., Borgaonkar, R., Park, S., Seifert, J.: New vulnerabilities in 4G and 5G cellular access network protocols: exposing device capabilities. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth Conference on Security and Privacy in Wireless and Mobile Networks, pp. 221–231 (2019)
Steig, S., Aarnes, A., Do, T., Nguyen, H.: A network based IMSI catcher detection. In: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on IT Convergence and Security (2016)
Stirling, C.: Modal and temporal logics for processes. In: Moller, F., Birtwistle, G. (eds.) Logics for Concurrency. LNCS, vol. 1043, pp. 149–237. Springer, Heidelberg (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-60915-6_5
Yocam, E., Gawanmeh, A., Alomari, A., Mansoor, W.: 5G mobile networks: reviewing security control correctness for mischievous activity. SN Appl. Sci. 4(11), 304 (2022)
Zhang, M.: Provably-secure enhancement of 3GPP authentication and key agreement protocol. Cryptology ePrint Archive, vol. 2003, p. 92 (2003)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing
About this paper
Cite this paper
Wright, J., Wolthusen, S. (2024). A Contextual Integrity Property to Impede Privacy Violations in 5G Networks. In: Staggs, J., Shenoi, S. (eds) Critical Infrastructure Protection XVII. ICCIP 2023. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 686. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49585-4_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49585-4_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-49584-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-49585-4
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)