Real-Time Rogue Base Stations Detection System in Cellular Networks

Recently, rogue base station (RBS) attack is growing common. A RBS attack occurs when an attacker uses a fake base station (FBS) to mimic a legitimate base station, luring phone users to connect and facilitating activities like stealing personal information and sending spam messages. This type of attack poses a significant threat to users privacy and security and has a serious impact on the operation and management of mobile networks. To address RBS attacks, it is essential to create a RBS/FBS detection system. In this paper, we proposed three different approaches to detect RBS/FBS, including the user equipment (UE) approach, core network (CN) approach, and Radio Access Network (RAN) approach. Finally, we integrate the three approaches mentioned above into a monitoring user interface (UI). This UI can instantly display the locations where FBS are detected and track the moving trajectories of FBS through heatmaps over a period of time. Our proposed RBS/FBS detection system can detect RBS in real time, block attacks, and ensure service quality.