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Hauptverfasser: Oh, Taekkyung, Bae, Sangwook, Ahn, Junho, Lee, Yonghwa, Hoang, Tuan Dinh, Kang, Min Suk, Tippenhauer, Nils Ole, Kim, Yongdae
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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Online-Zugang:https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.14963
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author Oh, Taekkyung
Bae, Sangwook
Ahn, Junho
Lee, Yonghwa
Hoang, Tuan Dinh
Kang, Min Suk
Tippenhauer, Nils Ole
Kim, Yongdae
author_facet Oh, Taekkyung
Bae, Sangwook
Ahn, Junho
Lee, Yonghwa
Hoang, Tuan Dinh
Kang, Min Suk
Tippenhauer, Nils Ole
Kim, Yongdae
contents In cellular networks, authorities may need to physically locate user devices to track criminals or illegal equipment. This process involves authorized agents tracing devices by monitoring uplink signals with cellular operator assistance. However, tracking uncooperative uplink signal sources remains challenging, even for operators and authorities. Three key challenges persist for fine-grained localization: i) devices must generate sufficient, consistent uplink traffic over time, ii) target devices may transmit uplink signals at very low power, and iii) signals from cellular repeaters may hinder localization of the target device. While these challenges pose significant practical obstacles to localization, they have been largely overlooked in existing research. This work examines the impact of these real-world challenges on cellular localization and introduces the Uncooperative Multiangulation Attack (UMA) to address them. UMA can 1) force a target device to transmit traffic continuously, 2) boost the target's signal strength to maximum levels, and 3) uniquely differentiate between signals from the target and repeaters. Importantly, UMA operates without requiring privileged access to cellular operators or user devices, making it applicable to any LTE network. Our evaluations demonstrate that UMA effectively overcomes practical challenges in physical localization when devices are uncooperative.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_14963
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Enabling Physical Localization of Uncooperative Cellular Devices
Oh, Taekkyung
Bae, Sangwook
Ahn, Junho
Lee, Yonghwa
Hoang, Tuan Dinh
Kang, Min Suk
Tippenhauer, Nils Ole
Kim, Yongdae
Cryptography and Security
In cellular networks, authorities may need to physically locate user devices to track criminals or illegal equipment. This process involves authorized agents tracing devices by monitoring uplink signals with cellular operator assistance. However, tracking uncooperative uplink signal sources remains challenging, even for operators and authorities. Three key challenges persist for fine-grained localization: i) devices must generate sufficient, consistent uplink traffic over time, ii) target devices may transmit uplink signals at very low power, and iii) signals from cellular repeaters may hinder localization of the target device. While these challenges pose significant practical obstacles to localization, they have been largely overlooked in existing research. This work examines the impact of these real-world challenges on cellular localization and introduces the Uncooperative Multiangulation Attack (UMA) to address them. UMA can 1) force a target device to transmit traffic continuously, 2) boost the target's signal strength to maximum levels, and 3) uniquely differentiate between signals from the target and repeaters. Importantly, UMA operates without requiring privileged access to cellular operators or user devices, making it applicable to any LTE network. Our evaluations demonstrate that UMA effectively overcomes practical challenges in physical localization when devices are uncooperative.
title Enabling Physical Localization of Uncooperative Cellular Devices
topic Cryptography and Security
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.14963