Detecting IMSI-Catchers by Characterizing Identity Exposing Messages in Cellular Traffic
Tyler Tucker
Network and Distributed System Security (NDSS) Symposium 2025 · Day 1 · Wireless, Cellular & Satellite Security
In an era of increasing digital surveillance, the persistent threat posed by **IMSI-catchers** (International Mobile Subscriber Identity catchers) remains a critical concern. This talk, delivered by Tyler Tucker, a PhD candidate at the University of Florida, presents groundbreaking research that redefines the approach to detecting these clandestine cellular surveillance devices. Collaborating with researchers at UT Surk, Tucker and his team have developed a novel methodology that focuses on the fundamental actions IMSI-catchers *must* perform to achieve their objective, rather than relying on their often-elusive behavioral anomalies.
AI review
Tucker does something the field has been failing at for 30 years: produces statistically significant real-world evidence of IMSI-catcher deployment, and does it by rethinking the detection primitive rather than tuning the same broken heuristics. The core insight — stop chasing behavioral anomalies and instead enumerate what a catcher *must* do — is simple, rigorous, and embarrassingly overdue.