: Encrypting communication and validating traffic.
As you design your next IoT product, open the GSMA FS.38 document (available free on the GSMA website) and check each of the 14 controls. Your future self—and your customers—will thank you.
The guidelines target specific deployment models, focusing on non-SIM and SIM-enabled configurations across carrier perimeters.
FS.38 categorizes the complete end-to-end SIP environment into distinct nodes requiring separate security controls: gsma fs.38
As the gatekeepers of the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) core, SBCs bear the brunt of external attacks. FS.38 provides structural recommendations for testing how effectively an SBC enforces topology hiding, handles rate limiting, manages protocol validation, and filters malformed SIP messages designed to cause memory leaks or system crashes. 3. Core Network Nodes
As the industry moves toward 5G, the importance of SIP security continues to grow. FS.38 is part of a broader suite of GSMA security documents—such as and FS.40 (5G Security) —that collectively ensure a resilient and trusted global mobile ecosystem. 38 integrates with 5G security frameworks ? Cybersecurity document library - GSMA Security
To build this layered defence, FS.38 details several key countermeasures, including but not limited to: : Encrypting communication and validating traffic
Provides the foundational IT/network security hygiene used across the whole operator environment. VoLTE/VoWiFi Threat Intelligence
Historically, telecom security focused heavily on the network border. FS.38 shifts this thinking by providing a structured framework for , addressing risks not just at the access point but deep within the IMS-based core network. This is increasingly vital as networks move toward All-IP architectures.
As operators move away from legacy SS7 protocols—which have their own security guidelines like GSMA FS.11 —FS.38 provides the necessary outcome-based principles to handle modern IP-based signaling threats. It ensures that the of communications services are maintained even as networks become more open and interconnected. Interworking Security - GSMA For more technical depth
is a comprehensive cybersecurity guideline published by the GSMA Fraud and Security Group (FASG). It provides MNOs, vendors, and security auditors with a standardized framework to assess, design, and validate the security posture of SIP-based architectures.
For more technical depth, members can access the full PRD through the GSMA Cybersecurity Document Library specific penetration testing methodologies