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5c95bc9c
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Oliver Smith
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= Specification for IMSI Pseudonymization on the Radio Interface for 2G and Above
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== Introduction
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A long-standing issue in the 3GPP specifications is, that mobile phones and
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other mobile equipment (ME) have to send the International Mobile Subscriber
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Identity (IMSI) unencrypted over the air. Each IMSI is uniquely identifying the
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person who bought the associated Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) used in the
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ME. Therefore most people can be uniquely identified by recording the IMSI that
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their ME is sending. Efforts are made in the 2G and above specifications to
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send the IMSI less often, and where possible use the Temporary Mobile
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Subscriber Identity (TMSI) instead.
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But this is not enough. So-called IMSI catchers were invented and are used to
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not only record IMSIs when they have to be sent. But also to force ME to send
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their IMSI by immitating a Base Transceiver Station (BTS). IMSI catchers have
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become small and affordable, even criminals actors without much budget can use
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them to track anybody with a mobile phone.
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The solution presented in this document is to periodically change the IMSI of
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the ME to a new pseudonymous IMSI allocated by the Home Location Register (HLR)
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or Home Subscriber Service (HSS). The only component that needs to be changed
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in the network besides the SIM is the HLR/HSS, therefore it should be possible
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for a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) to deploy this privacy
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enhancement.
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== Location Update
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=== Regular
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=== With Pseudonymous IMSI
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== Implementation Notes
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=== Source Code for Reference Implementation
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=== Warning the User if the IMSI Does Not Change
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=== End to End Encryption of SMS
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=== User-configurable Minimum Duration Between IMSI Changes
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