Unblocking stolen mobile devices using SS7-MAP vulnerabilities: Exploiting the relationship between IMEI and IMSI for EIR access

Siddharth Prakash Rao; Silke Holtmanns; Ian Oliver; Tuomas Aura

doi:10.1109/Trustcom.2015.500

Unblocking stolen mobile devices using SS7-MAP vulnerabilities: Exploiting the relationship between IMEI and IMSI for EIR access

Siddharth Prakash Rao, Silke Holtmanns, Ian Oliver, Tuomas Aura

Department of Computer Science

Nokia

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceedings › Scientific › peer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The increase in usage of mobile phones and the relative increase in the number of mobile phone thefts have imposed an overhead on securely retrieving the stolen or missing devices. While the mobile security researchers try to figure out various mechanisms to track such devices, attackers on the other hand are trying to exploit weaknesses in the mobile network system to dissipate into the dark side with stolen devices. In this paper, we present how the SS7- MAP protocol can be misused to help an attacker to unblock the device from the stolen list and use it normally.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings - 14th IEEE International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications, TrustCom 2015
Publisher	IEEE
Pages	1171-1176
Number of pages	6
Volume	1
ISBN (Electronic)	9781467379519
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/Trustcom.2015.500
Publication status	Published - 2 Dec 2015
MoE publication type	A4 Conference publication
Event	IEEE International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications - Crowne Plaza Hotel, Helsinki, Finland Duration: 20 Aug 2015 → 22 Aug 2015 Conference number: 14

Conference

Conference	IEEE International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications
Abbreviated title	Trustcom
Country/Territory	Finland
City	Helsinki
Period	20/08/2015 → 22/08/2015

Keywords

EIR
IMEI
MAP
SS7
Stolen Mobiles

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10.1109/Trustcom.2015.500

Cite this

Rao, S. P., Holtmanns, S., Oliver, I., & Aura, T. (2015). Unblocking stolen mobile devices using SS7-MAP vulnerabilities: Exploiting the relationship between IMEI and IMSI for EIR access. In Proceedings - 14th IEEE International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications, TrustCom 2015 (Vol. 1, pp. 1171-1176). Article 7345408 IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/Trustcom.2015.500

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title = "Unblocking stolen mobile devices using SS7-MAP vulnerabilities: Exploiting the relationship between IMEI and IMSI for EIR access",

abstract = "The increase in usage of mobile phones and the relative increase in the number of mobile phone thefts have imposed an overhead on securely retrieving the stolen or missing devices. While the mobile security researchers try to figure out various mechanisms to track such devices, attackers on the other hand are trying to exploit weaknesses in the mobile network system to dissipate into the dark side with stolen devices. In this paper, we present how the SS7- MAP protocol can be misused to help an attacker to unblock the device from the stolen list and use it normally.",

keywords = "EIR, IMEI, MAP, SS7, Stolen Mobiles",

author = "Rao, {Siddharth Prakash} and Silke Holtmanns and Ian Oliver and Tuomas Aura",

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doi = "10.1109/Trustcom.2015.500",

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volume = "1",

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booktitle = "Proceedings - 14th IEEE International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications, TrustCom 2015",

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note = "IEEE International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications, Trustcom ; Conference date: 20-08-2015 Through 22-08-2015",

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Rao, SP, Holtmanns, S, Oliver, I & Aura, T 2015, Unblocking stolen mobile devices using SS7-MAP vulnerabilities: Exploiting the relationship between IMEI and IMSI for EIR access. in Proceedings - 14th IEEE International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications, TrustCom 2015. vol. 1, 7345408, IEEE, pp. 1171-1176, IEEE International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications, Helsinki, Finland, 20/08/2015. https://doi.org/10.1109/Trustcom.2015.500

Unblocking stolen mobile devices using SS7-MAP vulnerabilities: Exploiting the relationship between IMEI and IMSI for EIR access. / Rao, Siddharth Prakash; Holtmanns, Silke; Oliver, Ian et al.
Proceedings - 14th IEEE International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications, TrustCom 2015. Vol. 1 IEEE, 2015. p. 1171-1176 7345408.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceedings › Scientific › peer-review

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AB - The increase in usage of mobile phones and the relative increase in the number of mobile phone thefts have imposed an overhead on securely retrieving the stolen or missing devices. While the mobile security researchers try to figure out various mechanisms to track such devices, attackers on the other hand are trying to exploit weaknesses in the mobile network system to dissipate into the dark side with stolen devices. In this paper, we present how the SS7- MAP protocol can be misused to help an attacker to unblock the device from the stolen list and use it normally.

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KW - IMEI

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KW - Stolen Mobiles

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BT - Proceedings - 14th IEEE International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications, TrustCom 2015

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Rao SP, Holtmanns S, Oliver I, Aura T. Unblocking stolen mobile devices using SS7-MAP vulnerabilities: Exploiting the relationship between IMEI and IMSI for EIR access. In Proceedings - 14th IEEE International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications, TrustCom 2015. Vol. 1. IEEE. 2015. p. 1171-1176. 7345408 doi: 10.1109/Trustcom.2015.500

Unblocking stolen mobile devices using SS7-MAP vulnerabilities: Exploiting the relationship between IMEI and IMSI for EIR access

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