Cloud and 5G MNOs Continue to Improve SecurityCloud and 5G Mobile Network Operators Continue Progress on Security CapabilitiesNew 5G Americas white paper discusses wireless network security aspects in the 5G and cloud computing eraAs 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. Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas said, “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.” 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:
Scott Poretsky, Director of Security, North America, Network Product Solutions at Ericsson and 5G Americas working group leader said, “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.” Mike Barnes, Head of Product Security at Mavenir and 5G Americas working group leader for this paper 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.” Source: 5G Americas media announcement | |
