On simulation studies of cyber attacks against LTE networks

Abstract

Because of ever-increasing performance and capacity gains, the popularity of LTE as a 4G technology has skyrocketed. Unfortunately, cyber adversaries may launch attacks against the LTE network. In this paper, we develop a theoretical framework to systematically explore the attack space which consists of three dimensions: communication services attacked, planes of attack, and network components under attack. Based on the developed framework, we carried out extensive simulations to evaluate the impact of some representative attacks on LTE network performance. Our developed framework and simulation models enables a foundation for advancing the understanding of threats on the LTE network and assists in developing counter-measures to secure LTE networks.