SS7 (Common Channel Signaling System No. 7 or C7) has been the industry standard since, and hasn’t advanced much in decades. It’s outdated security concepts make it especially vulnerable to hackers. SS7’s success has also, in a way, been its curse. At least when it comes to cyber security. The SS7 protocol is used everywhere, and is the leading protocol for connecting network communication worldwide. As such, SS7 is an attacker’s best friend, enabling them access to the same surveillance capabilities held by law enforcement and intelligence agencies. How does SS7 work? The set of SS7 telephony signaling protocols is responsible for setting up and terminating telephone calls over a digital signaling network to enable wireless cellular and wired connectivity. It is used to initiate most of the world’s public telephone calls over PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) Over time other applications were integrated into SS7. This allowed for the introduction of new services li