Browsing by Author "Peng, Chunyi"

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New Security Threats Caused by IMS-based SMS Service in 4G LTE Networks
(2016)
Tu, Guan-Hua
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Li, Chi-Yu
;
Peng, Chunyi
;
Li, Yuanjie
;
Lu, Songwu
SMS (Short Messaging Service) is a text messaging service for mobile users to exchange short text messages. It is also widely used to provide SMS-powered services (e.g., mobile banking). With the rapid deployment of all-IP 4G mobile networks, the underlying technology of SMS evolves from the legacy circuit-switched network to the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) system over packet-switched network. In this work, we study the insecurity of the IMS-based SMS. We uncover its security vulnerabilities and exploit them to devise four SMS attacks: silent SMS abuse, SMS spoofing, SMS client DoS, and SMS spamming. We further discover that those SMS threats can propagate towards SMS-powered services, thereby leading to three malicious attacks: social network account hijacking, unauthorized donation, and unauthorized subscription. Our analysis reveals that the problems stem from the loose security regulations among mobile phones, carrier networks, and SMS-powered services. We finally propose remedies to the identified security issues.
The Dark Side of Operational Wi-Fi Calling Services
(2018-01-01)
Xie, Tian
;
Tu, Guan-Hua
;
Li, Chi-Yu
;
Peng, Chunyi
;
Li, Jiawei
All of four major U.S. operators have rolled out nationwide Wi-Fi calling services. They are projected to surpass VoLTE (Voice over LTE) and other VoIP services in terms of mobile IP voice usage minutes in 2018. They enable mobile users to place cellular calls over Wi-Fi networks based on the 3GPP IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) technology. Compared with conventional cellular voice solutions, the major difference lies in that their traffic traverses untrustful Wi-Fi networks and the Internet. This exposure to insecure networks may cause the Wi-Fi calling users to suffer from security threats. Its security mechanisms are similar to the VoLTE, because both of them are supported by the IMS. They include SIM-based security, 3GPP AKA (Authentication and Key Agreement), IPSec (Internet Protocol Security), etc. However, are they sufficient to secure Wi-Fi calling services? Unfortunately, our study yields a negative answer. In this work, we explore security issues of the operational Wi-Fi calling services in three major U.S. operators' networks using commodity devices. We disclose that current Wi-Fi calling security is not bullet-proof. We uncover four vulnerabilities which stem from improper standard designs, device implementation issues and network operation slips. By exploiting them, we devise two proof-of-concept attacks: user privacy leakage and telephony harassment or denial of voice service (THDoS); they can bypass the security defenses deployed on both mobile devices and network infrastructure. We have confirmed their feasibility and simplicity using real-world experiments, as well as assessed their potential damages and proposed recommended solutions.