The attackers found a new way to attack smartphones using 2G networks

Cyber-attackers have found a new way to attack smartphones. The Hacker News reports that the handover process, which is a major part of how mobile networks work, contains security vulnerabilities. The problem affects all currently available generations, ie from 2G networks and later. It remains unresolved.

The attackers manipulate the process of selecting the best transmitter

The handover process ensures that the device does not lose the signal during a call or data transfer, even if it is not in one place. It does this by actively searching for mobile transmitters and then joining the one that is “most attractive”.

The attacker manipulates this selection process and forces the smartphone to connect to the transmitter that attacked. He can do this quite simply, as the information that the towers send is not verified. Subsequently, it can cause a network outage, gaining access to the device or becoming an active intermediary between the participants in the communication. Either way, these methods easily gain access to sensitive information about the device, user or operator.

In a vulnerability test, the researchers found that all devices used, including the OnePlus 6, Apple iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and Huawei Pro P40 5G, were vulnerable to attack. Earlier this month, they presented their findings at the Annual Computer Security Applications conference.