Mobile Core Investigation

Mobile Core Investigation Training by Tonex

Mobile core investigations require precise interpretation of authentication, registration, session, and service discovery records. Mobile Core Investigation Training by Tonex examines evidence from fifth-generation (5G) core functions and supporting platforms. Participants review Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) and Session Management Function (SMF) events while distinguishing expected mobility from compromise. Cybersecurity analysts gain methods for investigating suspicious network function access, session anomalies, configuration changes, and interconnect exposure. Sound cybersecurity findings require correlating control-plane events with identity and policy context while documenting telemetry limitations. The practical training approach includes exercises, real-world case studies, and examples of processes and documentation used in mobile core investigation projects.

Learning Objectives

• Identify high-value investigation sources across 5G core network functions.
• Trace registration and authentication outcomes using authorized operational records.
• Reconstruct protocol data unit session establishment and modification decisions.
• Assess service-based interface anomalies within network function trust boundaries.
• Correlate policy, configuration, and interconnection events across environments.
• Document evidence limits and communicate technically defensible investigation findings.
• Improve cybersecurity response through structured core-network evidence analysis.

Audience

• Cybersecurity Professionals
• 5G Core Network Engineers
• Telecom Incident Responders
• Core Network Operations Specialists
• Network Function Security Architects
• Subscriber Authentication Investigators
• Service-Based Architecture Analysts
• Digital Forensic Specialists

Course Modules

Module 1: Mobile Core Investigation Scope

• Map control-plane and user-plane functions relevant to an incident hypothesis
• Establish affected network slices, services, and operational ownership boundaries
• Identify available network function event logs and trace retention windows
• Distinguish operational faults, suspicious behavior, and verified security breaches
• Prioritize volatile evidence without disrupting essential subscriber services
• Document authority, change restrictions, and evidence protection requirements

Module 2: Registration and Authentication Records

• Examine Access and Mobility Management Function registration event sequences
• Trace Authentication Server Function success, rejection, and challenge outcomes
• Review Unified Data Management interactions for subscription and authorization context
• Interpret concealed and temporary identifiers within authorized correlation boundaries
• Compare registration attempts with expected device and mobility behavior
• Distinguish provisioning errors from possible credential or access abuse

Module 3: Session and User Plane Investigation

• Reconstruct protocol data unit session establishment, updates, and termination
• Examine Session Management Function decisions and assigned session parameters
• Relate User Plane Function traffic metadata to recorded control decisions
• Investigate Packet Forwarding Control Protocol anomalies and context mismatches
• Assess unexpected data network selections and traffic steering changes
• Interpret session gaps caused by restart, failover, or partial observability

Module 4: Service-Based Core Trust Boundaries

• Examine Network Repository Function registrations and discovery request histories
• Trace service-based application programming interface authorization errors and denials
• Investigate unusual network function consumer and producer relationships
• Review policy control updates that affect charging and session behavior
• Analyze service communication proxy and certificate related event context
• Document trust-zone crossings and deviations from intended service permissions

Module 5: Core Configuration and Interconnect Evidence

• Compare approved change records with deployed network function configurations
• Review administrator actions, credential use, and privileged access logs
• Inspect Security Edge Protection Proxy records for roaming related anomalies
• Correlate resource orchestration events with network function service degradation
• Assess log integrity, time synchronization, and observation source reliability
• Preserve configuration versions and relevant operational approvals for later review

Module 6: Core Investigation Conclusions

• Build an event chronology with linked registration and session identifiers
• Separate causal evidence from simultaneous but unrelated operational symptoms
• Rate findings against documented confidence and evidence completeness criteria
• Identify containment choices that limit subscriber and service disruption
• Write technical findings with references, caveats, and corrective action owners
• Recommend log coverage and change governance improvements for future cases

Develop rigorous core-network investigative skills through Mobile Core Investigation Training by Tonex. Enroll to improve mobile incident reconstruction, evidence correlation, and defensible technical reporting.