5G Document Folder

45 | Finding Convergence in 5G Security By Stephen Evanczuk for Mouser Electronics Enabled by the convergence of a broad array of advanced technologies, 5G networks promise to wirelessly interconnect devices, individuals, enterprises, and nations at unprecedented levels of performance and service. The technologies underlying the 5G infrastructure complete the digital transformation of communications networks, offering a more fluid fabric needed to respond to fast- changing demands. In protecting these networks and their users the challenge lies in ensuring that those diverse technologies combine to serve as a shield rather than a sieve to cyberattacks. Because 5G networks are expected to reach into every aspect of the connected society, the need to respond to this challenge is critical. Across the layers of the 5G network hierarchy, core technologies shift the nature of mobile communications, sometimes in profound ways. At the lowest layer, the 5G wireless millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies dramatically boost available bandwidth, but also bring a fundamental change in the network topology. Instead of the large cell towers of current cellular networks, the reduced range and limited structure-penetration capability of GHz-frequency signals dictate the need for a closer distribution of more 5G cells. Placed in neighborhoods or even individual buildings, small 5G cells are the most evident transformation of the new network architecture— one that more closely resembles a hierarchical distributed computing environment than a communications network. In the 5G infrastructure, a radio access network (RAN) built around those small cells interact with a software- based 5G core network cloud, using local multi-access edge computing (MEC) systems to reduce latency to end devices and to provide local processing that reduces the load on the cloud. Although small cells are often closely associated with a user's view of a 5G network, the 5G core is the centerpiece of this new software-based communications framework. As with current public cloud services, the 5G core unshackles applications and services from the underlying hardware foundation using software technologies built around the concepts of software- defined networking and virtualization: • Software-defined networking (SDN) separates control and data planes to provide greater flexibility in the communications network configuration and performance. This process permits data flow through the core in any number of defined paths. • Virtualization separates application- or service- level functionality from hardware resources. This separation means that network providers can scale the computational backbone and deploy virtualized services to meet changing performance demands. As discussed further below, this capability also allows providers to add specialized services at any point in a network without the costs and delays traditionally required to provision resources at specific physical locations in a network. MEC: A Security and Privacy Enhancer SDN, virtualization, and cloud services are by no means new. Yet, their use in combination with other software- based elements in the 5G hierarchical architecture presents a novel set of capabilities that can enhance security. The availability of MEC resources can significantly enhance security and privacy in these networks. For better security, these edge computing resources can employ more extensive operational methods within their local RAN and provide vital maintenance support such as cell commissioning/ decommissioning and secure over-the-air (OTA) updates of cell firmware. Stephen Evanczuk has more than 20 years of experience writing for and about the electronics industry, discussing a wide range of topics including hardware, software, systems, applications, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Dr. Evanczuk received his PhD in neuroscience with an emphasis on neuronal networks. [ C O N T ' D O N P A G E 4 7 ]

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