Introduction

29.2043GPPArchitecture, functional description and protocol detailsRelease 17Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) security gatewayTS

The absence of security in Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) networks is an identified security weakness in 2G systems. This was formerly perceived not to be a problem, since the SS7 networks were the provinces of a small number of large institutions. This is no longer the case, and so there is now a need for security precautions.

For 3G systems it is a clear goal to be able to protect inter-network SS7 signalling protocols. The protection is done by security gateways which are located at the network border. As a consequence intra network SS7 signalling is not protected and network elements other than Security Gateways are not impacted.