Power Control Weakness in Long Term Evolution Network

Abstract

The increasingly important role of Long Term Evolution (LTE) has increased security concerns among the service provider and end users and made security of the network even more indispensable. In this paper, the power control mechanism for LTE is explored. The unprotected power control signal together with the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (CRNTI) can be exploited to trick the victim User Equipment (UE) to transmit at a much higher than required power, which introduces significant inter-cell interference to the adjacent based station, evolved NodeB (eNodeB). The ways that an attacker can maliciously manipulate the control field of the power control mechanism are demonstrated. The effectiveness of such attack is evaluated with respect to the victim UEs and the adjacent eNodeB.