Hackers Can Take Down LTE Networks in Entire Regions with Cheap Jammers

Researchers from Virginia Tech have revealed that a hacker can take out high-speed wireless LTE data networks by using a cheap radio jammer.

2G and 3G networks are not affected by this attack, but 4G networks can be easily disrupted even on larger areas if a power amplifier is added, MIT Technology Review informs.

The main problem is that 2G and 3G networks are slowly taken out of use and, at some point, communications might depend only on high-speed wireless networks.

Although LTE technology isn’t the only one affected, it’s the most vulnerable because it depends on control instructions that make up less than 1% of the entire signal.

According to experts, it’s not easy to fend off such attacks and, currently, there’s no immediate solution that could be implemented.