Battery-Powered Transmitter Could Crash A City's 4G Network 121
DavidGilbert99 writes "With a £400 transmitter, a laptop and a little knowledge you could bring down an entire city's high-speed 4G network. This information comes from research carried out in the U.S. into the possibility of using LTE networks as the basis for a next-generation emergency response communications system. Jeff Reed, director of the wireless research group at Virginia Tech, along with research assistant Marc Lichtman, described the vulnerabilities to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which advises the White House on telecom and information policy. 'If LTE technology is to be used for the air interface of the public safety network, then we should consider the types of jamming attacks that could occur five or ten years from now (PDF). It is very possible for radio jamming to accompany a terrorist attack, for the purpose of preventing communications and increasing destruction,' Reed said."
Re:Police Box (Score:4, Insightful)
Hardlined police boxes with a wireless AP would make for a vastly more robust network than using the commercial LTE towers.
Sometimes the old ways are best.
Mod parent up. (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't know what the line:
came from but it is 100% false (unless you are talking about a very, very small "city".
This "attack" is just broadcasting noise and messing with communication protocols. So the range is limited to the coverage area of the transmitter. Including dead zones where there is too much concrete and steel for the transmitter to get through.
So you should see the same pattern for blocking as you do for regular access. With a similar requirement for blocking as for coverage.