Authentication technique to counter subscriber identity module swapping fraud attack

Abstract

Authentication processes to counter subscriber identity module swapping fraud attacks is disclosed. A method can comprise receiving location data representative of a tower device of a group of tower devices; receiving duration data representing a time period during which the mobile device has been traversing through a transmission region monitored by the tower device; as a function of the identification data, the location data, and the duration data, formulating a challenge query for the mobile device to answer; and sending the challenge query to the tower device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A user equipment, comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
 detecting that the user equipment has entered a broadcast coverage area enabled via a group of network equipment; 
 in response to the detecting, sending identifier data representing a subscriber identification module associated with the user equipment to the group of network equipment; 
 transmitting an instruction to first network equipment of the group of network equipment to transmit response data to second network equipment of the group of network equipment, wherein the response data comprises location data representative of a location of the first network equipment; and 
 receiving a challenge query that was generated by the second network equipment based on the identifier data, the location data, and timestamp data indicative of a time duration applicable to the user equipment having moved through the broadcast coverage area; and 
 in response to receiving the challenge query, generating a response to the challenge query. 
   
     
     
         2 . The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise, storing the location data by a microservice associated with an operating system executing via the user equipment. 
     
     
         3 . The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the broadcast coverage area is enabled via the first network equipment of the group of network equipment, wherein the response data is first response data, wherein the operations further comprise, receiving, from the first network equipment, second response data indicative of a timestamp value representative of the time duration, and wherein the time duration is determined as a function of entry data representative of an entry of the user equipment into at least a part of the broadcast coverage area and exit data representative of an exit of the user equipment from the broadcast coverage area. 
     
     
         4 . The user equipment of  claim 3 , wherein the operations further comprise, storing the timestamp value representative of the time duration by a microservice associated with an operating system executing via the user equipment. 
     
     
         5 . The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise transmitting the identifier data and the location data to the second network equipment to be stored by the second network equipment. 
     
     
         6 . The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the challenge query is determined based on a listing of identified network equipment of the group of network equipment that the user equipment has been in communication with during the time duration. 
     
     
         7 . The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise,
 storing the timestamp data by a microservice associated with an operating system executing via the user equipment; and   transmitting, to the second network equipment, the response to the challenge query with the location data and the timestamp data.   
     
     
         8 . The user equipment of  claim 1 , wherein the location data is first location data, wherein the timestamp data is first timestamp data, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting second location data and second timestamp data to the first network equipment to facilitate the first network equipment responding to the challenge query based on the second location data and the second timestamp data, and wherein the second timestamp data and the second location data are received from third network equipment different than the first network equipment and the second network equipment. 
     
     
         9 . A method, comprising:
 detecting, by first network equipment comprising a processor, that a mobile device has entered a transmission area controlled by the first network equipment;   facilitating, by the first network equipment, receiving, from the mobile device, identifier data associated with a subscriber identification module representing the mobile device;   facilitating, by the first network equipment, transmitting, to the mobile device, location data representing a location of the first network equipment; and   instructing, by the first network equipment, second network equipment to generate a challenge query based on the identifier data, the location data, and timestamp data indicative of a time duration during which the mobile device transitioned through the transmission area.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the location data is based on global positioning satellite coordinate data. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the challenge query comprises a nonce string generated by the first network equipment. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 instructing, by the first network equipment, the second network equipment to store the identifier data and the location data to a data store of data stores maintained by the second network equipment.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the second network equipment is core network equipment of a grouping of core network equipment. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the first network equipment is edge network equipment of a grouping of edge network equipment. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 instructing, by the first network equipment, the mobile device to reply to the challenge query based on the location data and the timestamp data, wherein the timestamp data and the location data have been previously stored by a microservice associated with an operating system executing on the mobile device.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the location data is first location data and the timestamp data is first timestamp data, and further comprising:
 receiving, by the first network equipment from a base station, second location data and second duration data; and   instructing, by the first network equipment, the mobile device to reply to the challenge query based on the second location data and the second duration data.   
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
 receiving identification data representing a subscriber identification module associated with a user equipment;   receiving location data representative of a location of locations associated with a group of base stations;   receiving duration data representing an amount of time taken by the user equipment to traverse a transmission region monitored by the group of base stations;   as a function of the identification data, the location data, and the duration data, formulating, for the user equipment, a challenge query to which the user equipment is to respond; and   communicating the challenge query to the user equipment.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the location data is first location data, wherein the duration data is first duration data, wherein the operations further comprise causing the user equipment to respond to the challenge query based on second location data and second duration data, and wherein the second duration data and the second location data are received from a base station of the group of base stations. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise determining whether the first duration data matches the second duration data, and whether the first location data matches the second location data. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the operations further comprise, in response to a result of the determining indicating a first match of the first duration data with the second duration data and a second match of the first location data with the second location data, enabling a network service to be accessed by the user equipment.