Cloud and 5G Mobile Network Operators Continue Progress on Security Capabilities.
New 5G Americas white paper discusses wireless network security aspects in the 5G and cloud computing era.
BELLEVUE, Wash, September 13, 2022 – As 5G networks and cloud computing become increasingly intertwined, 5G security continues to progress with new technical features to face the expanded attack surfaces from both internal and external threats. Today, 5G Americas, the voice of 5G and 4G LTE for the Americas, announced the release of its latest white paper entitled, “Evolving 5G Security for the Cloud”, which covers security threats, vulnerabilities, and mitigations for deployments of 5G cloud infrastructures as new services and use cases are developed.
“Cloud-native 5G networks are important for our expanding ecosystem to efficiently provide new use cases. It is vital that 5G cloud infrastructures be built and configured securely with capabilities in place to detect and respond to cyber-attacks, providing a hardened environment for deploying secure network functions.”
Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas said
According to the white paper, 5G security continues to improve as security controls, tools, and standards evolve over an extended 5G ecosystem. Different cloud deployment models and architectures may impact 5G security when deploying core networks, edge computing, network slicing, or private networks. Securing these networks will involve securing a 5G supply chain that includes software vendors and cloud service providers, as the cloud can potentially introduce increased supply chain risk due to virtualization, increased use of open-source software, and a larger array of third-party vendors.
Additionally, the interconnectedness of the world’s networks could expose the mobile network to additional risk and attack vectors. More secure deployment methods and international standards from the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) will allow Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMN) to interconnect for support of roaming, without revealing confidential information to prevent fraud.
“Evolving 5G Security for the Cloud” explores the following key topics:
- Introduction to risks and mitigation in 5G cloud deployments
- Secure 5G deployments in hybrid cloud environments (shared responsibility models & hybrid cloud deployments)
- Evolving technologies for securing 5G cloud deployments (runtime security, confidential computing)
- 5G supply chain security (software supply chain risks, software supply chain for the cloud and network equipment security assurance)
- Secure deployment methods for roaming and Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP)
“Security is a foundational pillar for 5G networks. As cloud and expanding multi-cloud environments proliferate, a stepwise approach to Zero Trust Architecture involves using existing security controls provided in 3GPP standards and implement additional security controls to protect from cloud risks due to lateral movement, multi-tenancy, shared resources, and hybrid cloud.”
Scott Poretsky, Director of Security, North America, Network Product Solutions at Ericsson and 5G Americas working group leader said
“All aspects of security must be addressed with interconnected 5G and cloud deployments. A secure 5G cloud deployment should be built upon a secure 5G supply chain that includes software vendors and cloud service providers. This involves clear visibility to the full supply chain and implementation of comprehensive test, metrics, and audit processes.”
Mike Barnes, Head of Product Security at Mavenir and 5G Americas working group leader for this paper said
This white paper is an update on the prior 5G Americas work on 5G cloud security in the 2021 white paper Security for 5G.
5G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization’s mission is to facilitate and advocate for the advancement and transformation of LTE, 5G and beyond throughout the Americas. 5G Americas is invested in developing a connected wireless community while leading 5G development for all the Americas. 5G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.