TELCOBREAK
Workshop · DEF CON 34
Telecom Security · Workshop · Section 3

2G → 5G Authentication & Trust

An interactive workshop. Pick a scenario and step through the protocol diagrams using the teaching CLI. Each scenario is fully self-contained — open the HTML file directly, no install required.

Scenario 1 · ~30 min

The Authentication Evolution

The same IMSI-catcher attack across three generations. It succeeds in 2G, is the whole point of the walk, and visibly fails in 5G. Learners feel the generational fix rather than reading it.

Crawl: 2G GSM attach Walk: IMSI catcher Run: 5G + SUCI + AKA
Start Scenario 1 →
Scenario 3 · ~30 min

Where Trust Breaks

Threat-centric. Enumerate three 2G weaknesses, chain them into a downgrade-and-intercept attack, then replay each against 5G and watch them fail. Ends with an attack→mitigation map.

Crawl: 2G attack surface Walk: Downgrade & intercept Run: Mitigation map
Start Scenario 3 →
Teaching disclaimer. Commands such as --suppress or --jam are teaching abstractions. Real-world downgrade attacks are subtler and gradual; we compress mechanics here so learners can see the effect in seconds.