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2025: Anti-fraud software for LTE base station developed in Russia
Russian telecommunications equipment manufacturer Softime announced in mid-October the release of a unique development - software for an LTE base station with the ability to detect the use of SIM boxes. According to the estimates of Artyom Zadorozhny, director of special customers at Software, more than 50% of fraudulent actions using mobile phones are carried out through illegal SIM boxes.
The SIM box search technology, according to its developer, Software, allows operators to analyze the radio signal coming from the device at the expense of artificial intelligence software and detect the abnormal behavior of client equipment that is typical for SIM boxes. A Russian patent has been obtained for the technology of detecting abnormal signals. The company also expects to protect its intellectual property at the international level. The development used the results of research and development carried out by order of the state.
When using a base station with anti-fraud software installed in it, it is not necessary for the operator to change all base stations - it is enough to set 5-10% of the total to ensure the effective detection of such illegitimate devices. According to the calculations of the Signaltek company, the Software partner for production and implementation, to protect large and medium-sized cities, it is enough to install 30 thousand such base stations throughout the country.
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It is difficult for mobile operators who receive information about subscribers not at the level of the core of the mobile network to identify SIM boxes, since they pretend to be legitimate subscribers. It is possible to understand that it is the SIM box that communicates with the base station only by indirect signs of abnormal activity. But the main thing is that even in this case, the location of this device is difficult to establish. Foreign-made base stations do not give operators sufficient telemetry to locate the SIM box.
A SIM box is a software and hardware complex with many SIM cards, originally created for testing mobile networks. However, the released devices were also appreciated by criminals who use them for calls from numbers registered to "dead souls" and SMS mailings to thousands of subscribers. With the SIM box located in Russia, a VoIP connection is established from another country - most often from Ukraine - and then mobile calls are made, which are allegedly initiated from the territory of Russia. Such SIM boxes make it difficult for Russian law enforcement officers to search for remote scammers.
Experts note that the most popular crimes committed using SIM boxes are spoofing, a method of replacing a mobile number for social engineering in order to directly steal money from the population; income from the fee section for expensive international calls with unscrupulous operators (International Revenue Share Fraud - IRSF); illegal profit-making due to the difference in tariffs (Bypass Fraud); attacks on two-factor authentication (2FA), which allow you to hack bank and mail accounts, social networks and much more.
In addition, attackers can use SIM boxes to create networks of bots, fraud with marketing promotions, SMS spam and phishing links, for hidden communication between members of criminal groups.
However, the direct purpose of the device - testing - can also be used for illegal actions to probe networks in order to cyber espionage and prepare for more complex attacks.
Softime said that in 2025 the company produced only 150 units of base stations, some of which are being tested by the big four operators, and some by Vainakh Telecom from the Chechen Republic. The latter, in particular, deployed two pilot regions for 10 and 20 base stations, however, outside large cities. In 2026, the manufacturer expects to release about 1,000 base stations and begin their larger distribution.
When asked by TAdviser about the further development of anomaly detection technology in mobile communications, Alexei Alyasev, CEO of Signaltek, noted that the technology can be used to identify other anomalies: drones and mobile jammers. Now work in this direction is underway, but it is the discovery of SIM boxes that may turn out to be a more attractive competitive advantage for mobile operators.
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