Demystifying Privacy in 5G Stand Alone Networks

TL;DR

This paper compares privacy features of 5G NSA and SA networks, revealing new vulnerabilities and emphasizing the importance of stricter privacy standards in 5G deployments.

Contribution

It provides the first qualitative and experimental comparison of 5G NSA and SA privacy, highlighting vulnerabilities and evaluating open-source implementations.

Findings

Identified two new 5G privacy vulnerabilities

Compared privacy levels between NSA and SA modes

Evaluated OpenAirInterface against real networks

Abstract

Ensuring user privacy remains critical in mobile networks, particularly with the rise of connected devices and denser 5G infrastructure. Privacy concerns have persisted across 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE networks. Recognizing these concerns, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has made privacy enhancements in 5G Release 15. However, the extent of operator adoption remains unclear, especially as most networks operate in 5G Non Stand Alone (NSA) mode, relying on 4G Core Networks. This study provides the first qualitative and experimental comparison between 5G NSA and Stand Alone (SA) in real operator networks, focusing on privacy enhancements addressing top eight pre-5G attacks based on recent academic literature. Additionally, it evaluates the privacy levels of OpenAirInterface (OAI), a leading open-source software for 5G, against real network deployments for the same attacks. The analysis reveals two new 5G privacy vulnerabilities, underscoring the need for further research and stricter standards.