AfterDawn: Tech news

Can a $650 gadget take down entire LTE networks?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Nov 2012 5:01 User comments (1)

Can a $650 gadget take down entire LTE networks? Researchers at Virginia Tech seem to think so.
The university says anyone with a $650 radio jammer and some background knowledge can temporarily disable entire LTE networks for their area.

Apparently, LTE networks are much more susceptible than existing GSM or CDMA networks to said radio jamming attacks. As the researchers say: "The vulnerability stems from the fact that LTE depends on control instructions that make up less than one percent of the overall signal."

The frequencies that the control set operate are publicly available, you just have to look for them.

VTech's director of wireless research Jeff Reed says hackers could also add an "inexpensive power amplifier" to the jammer they could take down LTE networks for miles. This would be an extremely dire situation for carriers who are looking to eventually move to LTE-only networks, not backed by current 3G.

Previous Next  

1 user comment

117.11.2012 09:51

so... there ya go smart ass's post it all over.
thats like going on TV and saying there are hundreds of thousand of weapons in an ungaurded bulding in ohio at this address.

the last thing ya want to do is post it online so others can figure out how to do it,, pretty soon there will be no LTE WHY!!! because Researchers at Virginia had nothing better to do with there time then try to take down the LTE network. people like this just need to be drug out in the street and shot.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
4 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments
How to Enable Bluetooth on Stadia Controller How to Enable Bluetooth on Stadia Controller (11 Feb 2023 1:04)
Google shut down its streaming game service Stadia late last month and this means that some people have Stadia controllers lying around that seem to be of no use. That is fortunately not the ....
2 user comments
Guide: How to Kick Unwanted Guests from Your Netflix Account Guide: How to Kick Unwanted Guests from Your Netflix Account (26 Jan 2023 2:14)
Sharing a Netflix account with a person in a different location is possible and indeed very common, although the company doesn't necessarily enjoy this behavior from their customers. However, ....
Guide: Turn an Old Computer Into a Chromebook Easily and for Free Guide: Turn an Old Computer Into a Chromebook Easily and for Free (07 Jan 2023 2:11)
Do you know someone whose computer is way beyond its best-before date, and they, unfortunately, do know have the skills or the expertise to do much about it? Or do you own a pile of old laptop ....
2 user comments

News archive