Traffic Engineering

Traffic engineering is the set of techniques operators use to optimise how traffic flows through their network, load balancing, MPLS path selection, BGP local preference, and segment routing, so that capacity is used efficiently and SLAs are met. It is a key tool for both performance and resilience, and feeds into capacity planning and DDoS mitigation strategies.

Categories: SignalingThreats and AttacksOperations and Business

Traffic Engineering 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.

Telecom threats range from opportunistic SMS phishing and SIM swap to nation-state grade location tracking and lawful-interception abuse. The common thread is that most attacks exploit the inherited trust model of legacy signaling. SS7 and Diameter were designed for a closed operator community that no longer exists.

To place Traffic Engineering in the wider telecom-security picture, review Traffic Baselining, Lawful Interception Architecture, DPI, NetFlow / IPFIX / sFlow, Lawful Intercept and Capacity Planning.

Related terms

Related topic hubs

  • SS7 Security SS7/MAP/CAP/SCCP attacks and defenses across 2G/3G interconnect.
  • Diameter Attacks S6a IDR/PUR/CLR abuse, subscriber tracking, LTE signaling attacks.
  • Signaling Firewall Unified SS7/Diameter/GTP/SMS signaling firewall framework.

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.