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A network-based positioning method to locate false base stations

A False Base Station (FBS) can perform active or passive attacks against mobile devices or user equipment (UE) with the purpose to steal private information, such as International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI), to trace users’ location, or to prevent users from getting service from operators.

Most existing solutions related to FBS focus on detection aspects rather than locating its position. However, once an FBS is detected in a network, it’s crucial to determine its location precisely and remotely so preventive actions can be taken.

We propose a network-based localization method for estimating the exact geographical position of an FBS whose existence is already detected in a cellular network. Our method relies on a comparative pairwise analysis of the Reference Signals Received Power (RSRP) values, which are reported by the UEs in the vicinity of FBS as a standard procedure through their measurement reports. We have implemented and experimentally evaluated our proposed method in the Network Simulator 3 (ns-3) and showed that it accurately estimates FBS locations with meter-level precision under different scenarios in a cellular network.

Full abstract in IEEEXplore DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3103673

Authors:

Leyli Karaçay, Ericsson Research

Zeki Bilgin, Arçelik Research

Ayşe Bilge Gündüz, Pinar Çomak, Emrah Tomur, Elif Ustundag Soykan, Utku Gülen, and Ferhat Karakoç, Ericsson Research

Published in IEEE Access volume 9, Aug 9, 2021.

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A network-based positioning method to locate false base stations

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