RCS (Rich Communication Services)

RCS in context

Signaling protocols carry the control-plane instructions that set up calls, register subscribers, hand over sessions and route SMS. SS7, Diameter, GTP-C and SIP are the four dominant families, and interconnect exposure of any of them is treated by GSMA FS.11 / FS.19 / FS.20 as a top-tier telecom risk.

Subscriber identifiers (IMSI, SUPI, MSISDN, IMEI) are the anchor for authentication, charging, lawful interception and fraud analytics. Any protocol or interface that leaks a permanent identifier is treated as a serious privacy defect, which is why 5G introduced SUCI concealment on the air interface.

To place RCS in the wider telecom-security picture, review AAA, CAP, Core Network Security Assessment, IMSI, Network Exposure Function (NEF) and Roaming Interconnect Security.

Related terms

• AAA
• CAP
• Core Network Security Assessment
• IMSI
• Network Exposure Function (NEF)
• Roaming Interconnect Security
• SMS
• 2G

Equipment

Messaging (SMSC, SMS router, MMSC, IP-SM-GW, SMSF, RCS)

• Silent SMS
• SMS Home Routing
• SMSC
• SMSC Hijacking

Articles in the P1 mobile network security guide

Related topic hubs

• VoLTE Security IMS/VoLTE signaling risk: SIP, IMS-AKA, media plane attacks.
• Signaling Firewall Unified SS7/Diameter/GTP/SMS signaling firewall framework.
• IMS Security Training Training on IMS, VoLTE/VoNR, SIP and RCS security.
• SMS Firewall SMS spam, phishing, A2P bypass and MAP-layer SMS filtering.

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.