Jamming

Jamming is the deliberate transmission of radio signals to disrupt legitimate wireless communications, ranging from low-power consumer devices to high-power military systems. It can target GPS, cellular, Wi-Fi, or specific bands, and is illegal in most jurisdictions. Anti-jamming techniques include frequency hopping, spread spectrum, beamforming, and signal-processing-based interference cancellation.

Categories: Radio Access NetworkCore NetworkThreats and Attacks

Jamming in context

The radio access network is the layer where mobile devices attach to the operator's infrastructure. Attacks in this layer include IMSI catching, rogue base stations, downgrade attacks and jamming, and defenses hinge on mutual authentication, integrity-protected signaling and Open RAN supply-chain hygiene.

The mobile core is where subscriber sessions, mobility and policy live. In 4G it is the EPC (MME, HSS, S/PGW); in 5G it is the Service-Based Architecture with AMF, SMF, UPF, AUSF, UDM and the NRF. Core exposure is the difference between a single-subscriber leak and a fleet-wide breach.

To place Jamming in the wider telecom-security picture, review BTS, RAN, RF, AMPS, GNSS Jamming and GNSS Spoofing.

Related terms

Related topic hubs

  • Diameter Attacks S6a IDR/PUR/CLR abuse, subscriber tracking, LTE signaling attacks.
  • 5G Security 5G SBA, SEPP, SUCI, 5G-AKA, N32 and service-based interface security.
  • Silent SMS Type-0 SMS location tracking and detection.

More from the TelcoSec Glossary

Browse the full TelcoSec Glossary, the Ultimate Guide to Mobile Network Security, or the P1 Arsenal of telecom-security tools.