Securing 5G and Evolving Architectures

SECURING and EVOLVING ARCHITECTURES

5G initiates a period of technological evolution where the benefits transcend faster data download speeds and enable services that will change the way we all live and consume technology. Leveraging 5G's openness, a new developer ecosystem is building breakthrough services that billions of people will consume, delivering immense value to enterprises and subscribers alike. For 5G to achieve its potential, organizations must embrace multi-layered security that goes far beyond 3GPP specifications. Now, leading security architect Pramod Nair helps network professionals climb the steep learning curve associated with securing 5G, fully understand its threat surfaces, systematically mitigate its risks, and maximize the value of their security investments.

This coherent, pragmatic, and vendor-agnostic guide will help you plan for security from the outset, make better choices throughout the lifecycle, and develop the mindset needed to secure new generations of networks. You'll find all you need: from high-level 5G security concepts to in-depth coverage of specific security controls, end-to-end architectural guidance, 5G security use cases, and cutting-edge "quantum proofing." Throughout, practical examples and real-life scenarios help you apply Nair's insights---whether you're a service provider, an enterprise, an industry vertical, a startup, a cybersecurity vendor, a systems integrator, or even in a defense environment.

Securing 5G and Evolving Architectures is for technical and management audiences at all levels of 5G experience---from enterprise and security architects to network engineers, cloud computing and data center professionals, to CSO and CTO teams.

• Explore new 5G security challenges---and why you still need external controls, even with recent 3GPP improvements
• Implement network component security controls for RAN, Transport, 5GC, and devices
• Safeguard Multi-Access Edge Compute (MEC), SDNs, virtualized 5G cores, and massive IOT
• Protect Public and Non-Public Networks (Private 5G) deployment scenarios
• Secure Critical Infrastructure, Vehicle to Everything (V2X), and Smart Factory use cases
• Optimize end-to-end 5G security architecture across all 5G domains based on zero trust
• Prioritize 5G security investments in service provider or enterprise environments
• Preview emerging 5G use cases and ML/AI-based security enhancements

Foreword xv

Preface xvi

Acknowledgments xxi

About the Author xxii

Part I Evolution of Cellular Technologies to 5G, Security Enhancements, and Challenges

Chapter 1: Evolution from 4G to 5G 2

Mobile Network Evolution from 4G to 5G.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Key 5G Features in 3GPP Releases.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Key 5G Advanced Features.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Acronym Key.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

References.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Chapter 2: Deployment Modes in 5G 26

5G NSA and SA Deployments.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

5G Time-Sensitive Networks.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

5G Local Area Network–Type Service.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Private 5G/Non-Public Networks.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Acronym Key.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

References.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Chapter 3: Securing 5G Infrastructure 56

3GPP 5G Security Enhancements.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Security Challenges in 5G. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Acronyms Key.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

References.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Part II Securing 5G Architectures, Deployment Modes, and Use Cases

Chapter 4: Securing RAN and Transport Deployments in 5G 82

5G RAN and Transport Threats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Securing 5G RAN and Transport.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Real Scenario Case Study: Examples of Threat Surfaces and Their Mitigation. . 125

Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Acronym Key.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

References.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Chapter 5: Securing MEC Deployments in 5G 142

Service Provider Network-Based MEC.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Enterprise Network-Based MEC.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

MEC Deployment Models.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Threat Surfaces in 5G MEC Deployments.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Securing 5G MEC.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Real Scenario Case Study: MEC Threats and Their Mitigation.. . . . . . . . . 217

Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Acronym Key.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

References.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Chapter 6: Securing Virtualized 5G Core Deployments 234

A Brief Evolution of Virtualization in Telecommunications.. . . . . . . . . . . 235

Threats in Virtualized 5G Packet Core Deployments.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Securing Virtualized 5G Packet Core Deployments.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Real Scenario Case Study: Virtualized 5GC Threats and Mitigation.. . . . . . . 281

Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Acronym Key.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

References.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Chapter 7: Securing Network Slice, SDN, and Orchestration in 5G 298

Network Slicing and Its Enablers—SDN and Orchestration. . . . . . . . . . 299

Threat Surfaces in 5G Network Slice, SDN, and Orchestration Deployments.. . . 309

Mitigation of Threats.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Real Scenario Case Study: Threats in the 5G Network Slice, SDN, and Orchestration Deployments and Their Mitigation. . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Key Acronyms.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

References.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374

Chapter 8: Securing Massive IoT Deployments in 5G 376

Massive IoT–Based Threats in 5G.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380

Securing mIoT Deployments in 5G Networks.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

Real Scenario Case Study: mIoT Threats and Their Mitigation.. . . . . . . . . 414

Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418

Key Acronyms.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

References.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422

Chapter 9: Securing 5G Use Cases 424

Secure 5G Smart Factory and Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

Critical Infrastructure.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437

5G Vehicle-to-Everything (5G-V2X).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

Standards and Associations.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

Key Acronyms.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

References.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467

Part III End-to-End 5G Security Architecture and Prioritizing Security Investments

Chapter 10: Building Pragmatic End-to-End 5G Security Architecture 468

Foundations of 5G Security.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

Key Tenets of 5G Security Architecture.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472

Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497

Acronyms Key.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498

References.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501

Chapter 11: Prioritizing 5G Security Investments 502

Method of Prioritizing Security Controls.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532

Acronyms Key.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

References.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534

Part IV Emerging Discussions

Chapter 12: 5G and Beyond 536

Adoption and Adaptability of 5G and Evolving Technologies.. . . . . . . . . 537

Convergence of Wi-Fi and Evolving Cellular Technologies.. . . . . . . . . . 539

Use of AI and ML in Securing 5G and Evolving Networks.. . . . . . . . . . . 543

Crypto Agility in 5G and Evolving Technologies.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546

Summary.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548

Acronym Key.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548

References.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550

9780137457939, TOC, 10/27/2021

Pramod Nair is a Lead Security Architect at Cisco Systems focusing on service providers. During his 20 years of experience in the industry, Pramod has worked in multiple areas, including research and development, designing end-to-end mobile networks, and technical consulting on military and defense projects.

Among other responsibilities in his current role within Cisco, Pramod leads 5G Security Architecture, driving its adoption globally, and has been instrumental in architecting secure next-generation networks for customers across the globe. He is a regular speaker on the subject at large conferences and industry events.

Pramod is an active member of the security community. His role is to help mobile network providers, service providers, industry verticals, the national security and defense sectors, and other agencies dedicated to securing critical infrastructures. He is also deeply involved with industry trade organizations, has co-chaired the 5G security white paper within the 5GAmericas work group, and works with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on 5G security.

Pramod holds a patent in fraud detection and has published various white papers and articles covering security-related topics.