Ciphertext Malleability in TETRA

TETRA encrypted communication lacks integrity checks, allowing an attacker to flip individual bits in the encrypted data and modify the original message without detection. This undermines the security of sensitive radio communications.

The TETRA air-interface uses stream cipher encryption without authenticated encryption or message authentication codes (MAC), enabling bit-flipping attacks. An active network adversary can manipulate ciphertext to alter plaintext content while evading detection, compromising confidentiality and integrity guarantees.