A security flaw in the fourth generation (4G) cellular network can allow hackers to identify web pages users browse and re-route them to a scam website, according to a study carried out by experts at the Horst Gortz Institute at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum.
According to the study, all devices using long-term evolution (LTE) or 4G network are at risk.
“The weaknesses are impossible to close; and they are also still present in the upcoming mobile telephony standard 5G, the standardization of which is currently pending,” according to the study.
Citing LTE documentations, researchers have pointed out that an integrity protection mechanism, which prevents attacks, has been deliberately omitted in the 4G telephony.
According to researcher Thorsten Holz, network operators ignored the issue as they would have had to add “additional four bytes to each payload” to implement the protection measures. This could have increase data transmission costs.
The study further claimed that integrity protection has not been provided in the fifth generation (5G) mobile telephony standard either so far and has advocated closing the gap by default in 5G services.
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), India had 238.34 million 4G subscribers by end-December 2017.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.
Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.
