Cellpot: A Concept for Next Generation Cellular Network Honeypots

Smartphones have been shown to be vulnerable. Similarly, cellular networks have been shown to be vulnerable to denial of service attacks through signaling. Attackers can use compromised smartphones to remotely attack the cellular network. Therefore the mobile network operator requires measures to detect and mitigate attacks as they emerge. In the past honeypots proved to be a valuable tool to detect ongoing attacks. Several designs for honeypots on smartphones have been proposed. However, their utility is hampered as they are unlikely to achieve a sufficient coverage. In this paper we introduce Cellpot as a novel honeypot concept for threat detection and defence directly inside the cellular network. Cellpot comprises an army of honeypots that are deployed on small cell base stations and is under full control of the operator. We show that Cellpot provides a cost-effective and scalable way for operators to detect and mitigate threats to their core network by reducing signaling overhead. We also present selected applications such as prevention of SMS spam, mobile theft and mobile malware.