Radiator SIM Pack 2.8 released! Major scalability improvement and other enhanced features

We are pleased to announce the release of Radiator SIM Pack version 2.8. This new release contains major scalability improvement and many enhanced features.

Scalability improvement and other enhanced features

To make it easier to manage large installations and improve performance, Radiator 3GPP AAA Server now supports configuration with multiple parallel workers that use the same Diameter identity. This update was also reflected in earlier Radiator Service Provider Pack release. 

In addition, Radiator SIM Pack has supported IMSI Privacy since release 2.5 and 2.8 release now adds support for certificate revocation and expiration notifications. For more info about IMSI Privacy features in Radiator SIM Pack, please see our new whitepaper.

Also, customers using SIGTRAN will be pleased to learn that SIGTRAN stack upper layers have been rearranged to better support additional MAP dialogues. For more detailed changes, please see the Radiator SIM Pack revision history.

Would you like to know more?

If you like to know more about Radiator, the new release and how it can help you in your use case, you can always contact our team at info(a)radiatorsoftware.com - or fill out the contact form.

New whitepaper: Introduction to IMSI Privacy Protection for Wi-Fi with Radiator SIM Pack

 

Great news! We are proud to present our new whitepaper “Introduction to IMSI Privacy Protection for Wi-Fi with Radiator SIM Pack”. You can download the whitepaper from our website.

What is IMSI Privacy about and why is it important?

One of the key use cases for SIM authentication, Wi-Fi offloading enables SIM-based devices to automatically switch data and voice traffic from mobile networks to Wi-Fi networks. This lets mobile carriers and operators reduce their operating costs, and provide better network coverage and customer service, in locations with high amounts of mobile traffic. However, without IMSI Privacy Protection for Wi-Fi the mobile user’s identity will be exposed on the Wi-Fi network when the device is authenticated and the latest Android and iOS mobile devices will also give the user a security warning and may refuse to connect automatically.

Since many of the SIM-based Wi-Fi authentication use cases, such as Wi-Fi offloading, Voice over Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi roaming capabilities are growing in importance, mobile OS manufacturers are putting pressure on the industry to improve Wi-Fi security, leading to a clear need for reliable IMSI Privacy Protection.

In our white paper, we give an overview of the security issues with Wi-Fi SIM-based device authentication and introduce the Radiator SIM Pack, which is a proven solution for IMSI Privacy Protection for Wi-Fi.

For more information, please download the whitepaper from our website.

*) In SIM-based mobile devices, like smart phones and tablets, the user’s unique identifier is stored on the SIM card in a standard format known as the International Mobile Subscriber Identifier, or IMSI for short.

Upcoming webinar: Radiator Portfolio Updates - 8th March and 10th March

We are pleased to announce that we are presenting a series of live webinars about new developments in Radiator products and their use cases.

The first webinar focuses on harnessing benefits of the full Radiator product portfolio and giving brief examples from the topic list below. Each of the following sessions takes a deep-dive on real Radiator use cases, with technical insight from our experts:

• Radiator Software news and updates in our product and services portfolio
• Radiator Auth.fi - our new secure and easy service for Wi-Fi authentication
• How to connect to OpenRoaming (™) roaming federation service with Radiator
• Radiator VNF Flex - new and flexible approach to AAA VNF with Radiator
• Using Radiator in eduroam and other roaming services 
• Using Radiator with utility networks, such as water systems and power system management
• Experiences from using Radiator as replacement for products nearing end-of-life
• More coming up
  

The first webinar Radiator Portfolio Updates is held in parallel sessions on Tuesday 8th March 08.00-09.00 UTC and Thursday 10th March 16.00-17.00 UTC for participants from different regions to join.

Please register here to receive an invite to your preferred session. By registering you’ll also get access to the presentation recording and materials after the webinar.

Radiator provides IMSI privacy for EAP-SIM, EAP-AKA and EAP-AKA’ authentication

In many high traffic areas such as sports stadiums, shopping venues, or public transport hubs, mobile carriers may partner with the local Wi-Fi providers to improve coverage and user experience: mobile devices can be automatically connected to Wi-Fi instead of congested cellular network. Internationally, Wi-Fi roaming agreements also allow carriers to lower the cellular roaming costs. 

EAP-SIM, EAP-AKA and EAP-AKA’ are SIM-based Wi-Fi authentication methods used to achieve seamless offloading to carrier and partner Wi-Fi, with International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI) derived from the SIM card acting as a unique identifier for each user. 

On the first ever connection to such a Wi-Fi network, the mobile device communicates its permanent subscriber identity information (IMSI), which is then sent to the home operator for authentication. This identity is sent in the clear. A potential 3rd party adversary installing a Wi-Fi sniffer in the vicinity of such networks can harvest permanent identities and track users. This tracking can also be done by the venue or network owner when connecting to the Wi-Fi network. 

Because of this, mobile operating systems such as iOS15 will show the following warning when joining a Wi-Fi network without IMSI encryption: “your mobile subscriber identity will be exposed”. The similar situation can be seen from the pictures below. 

Privacy warning when authenticating to Wi-Fi network without IMSI encryption

 

Operators risk decreased user satisfaction for Wi-Fi offloading if transmitting IMSI in the open - it may cause users to feel their privacy is being compromised.

Radiator SIM Pack provides IMSI privacy protection 

The solution is to protect user privacy by implementing IMSI encryption for EAP-SIM, EAP-AKA and EAP-AKA’ authentication. As an operator, you can enable IMSI privacy easily: Radiator 3GPP AAA Server handles both encrypted and clear authentication requests. This means IMSI privacy can be offered to devices supporting it without affecting other users. 

Starting already from revision 2.5, Radiator SIM Pack supports IMSI encryption as specified in 3GPP S3-170116 document “Privacy Protection for EAP-AKA” (zip), and WBA’s IMSI Privacy Protection for Wi-Fi – Technical Specification. The feature is already implemented by some of our operator customers to cover their AAA server encryption. 

The latest release of Radiator SIM Pack is available for new licensees and for licensed customers with valid download access. To find out if Radiator SIM Pack suits your needs, you can contact us at sales@radiatorsoftware.com and a member of our sales team will be happy to assist you. 

You can also contact us to renew your support contract and get access to the newest release. A full history of Radiator SIM Pack releases is available on our website.

Protecting user identity with Radiator SIM Pack

Nowadays, mobile operators use complementary network technologies to improve user connectivity. Mobile data traffic originally targeted for cellular networks can be offloaded to designated Wi-Fi hotspots, therefore relieving congestion in high traffic areas. By implementing SIM authentication with Radiator SIM Pack, customer experience is enhanced by seamlessly authenticating users and logging them into the Wi-Fi network.

Cellular networks use IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) as a unique identifier for every user of the network, which comprises 15 digits including the user's telephone number. When this identifier is sent by the device to the network, privacy can be compromised if the connection request is not encrypted. This encryption relies both on the operator's AAA server and the user device.

Starting from revision 2.5, Radiator SIM Pack supports IMSI encryption, also known as "Permanent Identity Encryption"; functionality specified in 3GPP document S3-170116: "Privacy Protection for EAP-AKA". This feature is already implemented by some of our operator customers to cover their AAA server encryption. Alongside device manufacturers such as Apple, who already implement identity encryption, permanent identity of the user is not exposed, increasing their privacy protection.

The latest release of Radiator SIM Pack is available for new licensees and for licenced customers with valid download access. To find out if Radiator SIM Pack suits your needs, you can contact us at sales@radiatorsoftware.com and a member of our sales team will be happy to assist you. You can also contact us to renew your support contract and get access to the newest release. A full history of Radiator SIM Pack releases is available on our website.