Cyber Security in the 5G Era: Will Superfast Meet Supersecure Expectations?

5G is likely to usher in a new wave of opportunities for businesses, unlocking the next level of growth for the country. However, 5G may also open doors for new cyber threats. The high speed of data transfer may allow hackers to infect more data packages and spy on companies without being noticed. This cover story will analyze the unforeseen threats, cyber security risks, and risk management framework that enterprises must be aware of

Amit Singh

With the recent 5G launch in India, the digital revolution is well underway and in the coming decade it will take on even more significance as connectivity comes to underpin every aspect of our lives, from industry to utilities. Indeed, 5G promises to deliver increased capacity and energy efficiency at a fraction of the cost.

Faster connectivity speeds, ultra-low latency, and greater bandwidth are bound to advance societies, transform industries, and dramatically enhance day-to-day experiences. However, when it comes to security, the 5G platform is yet to prove itself as a truly resilient system.

High stakes on 5G

Enterprises are putting high stakes on 5G as they line up their priorities over the next couple of years. As per IDC’s Asia/Pacific Connected Enterprises Survey, 62 percent of enterprises in India mentioned that network flexibility especially network slicing makes 5G more attractive to them than previous radio generations. This is followed by 55 percent that mentioned that significantly higher speeds than 4G seems to be an attractive point.

Another report from EY says that as many as 70 percent of enterprises are expected to make the highest investment in 5G in the next three years as compared to other emerging technologies. Smart manufacturing, immersive content, and cloud gaming will be the top 5G use cases, it said.

Interestingly, half of the enterprises surveyed said that they have limited clarity on 5G policy and regulations. The report highlights the significance of redefining cyber security strategies as vulnerabilities get heightened by the distributed and virtualized nature of 5G networks.

The need for strengthened security is further intensified by a recent Fortinet survey around security in enabling 5G adoption in business verticals. Almost 90 percent of respondents stated that the mobile network operator’s security capabilities are either critical or very important for success in vertical industry use cases. More than 80 percent consider native 5G security features as important. Moreover, 54 percent of respondents believe operators should offer a shared responsibility model; over 86 percent believe operators should offer full-stack security.

Challenging traditional approaches in cyber-security

The adoption of any new technology is always fraught with challenges. During the transition to 5G, it will initially work in parallel with 4G networks as physical infrastructure is overhauled. Devices and network technology will need hardware upgrades to adapt to the new system. Eventually, 5G will be released as an all-software network that can be maintained like any other digital system today.

While 5G capabilities continue to advance, the realization of a connected future hinges on ensuring trust and security. As networks become increasingly software-based and decentralized, their attack surface will widen and the number of potential entry points will expand, introducing new threat vectors and vulnerabilities. Multiple unregulated entry points to the network can allow hackers access to location tracking and even cellular reception for logged-in users. This new architecture also makes current cybersecurity practices redundant, opening up the network to dangerous attacks.

The biggest challenge will be the sudden, exponential growth of the attack surface due to the rapid expansion of IoT devices and edge-based computing says Vishak Raman, Vice President, Sales, India, SAARC and Southeast Asia, Fortinet. “This will be followed closely by the fact that these devices won’t necessarily be connected to a central network in a traditional hub-and-spoke configuration. With literally billions of IoT devices interconnected across a meshed edge environment, any device can become the weakest link in the security chain and expose the entire enterprise to risk,” he adds.

In addition, higher speed and more devices used by the 5G network will create a deluge of data which will increase the network traffic and attack surface. “It would result in lower network visibility, which might attract cybercriminals and escalate data extraction. Additionally, high throughput 5G networks open doors for network and application layer attacks risking the protection of sophisticated networks of connected devices, where compromising one device can infect the whole network,” shares Dhananjay Ganjoo, Managing Director, India & SAARC, F5.

Jaspreet Singh, Partner, and Clients and Markets Leader – Advisory Services, Grant Thornton elaborates that data exfiltration attempts on 5G networks are more lucrative for cybercriminals since a lot more data is transferred in a given amount of time. “An aspect of weakness is also the software’s integrity, particularly when it originates from open sources and the entire software distribution network. The significant increase in bandwidth that enables 5G also opens up new attack vectors. Small-cell antennas with a short range and low budget that are widely used in urban areas are now deemed critical threats,” he says.

Further, network slicing and each segment being accessed by multiple vendors all at once leads to improper network management, and also a potential security risk with 5G implementation, which can lead to the presence of untrusted and malicious core components to edge networks. “The proliferation of connected end-user devices and increased connectivity can lead to the exposure of encryption keys resulting from lack of stringent configurations and data governance policy violations. Apart from this network virtualization by-pass, API exploitation, and lateral movement within the core network can steer the way to expanded attack surfaces such as radio access network threats, core network threats, network slicing, NFV-SDN threats, and user equipment threats, to name a few. At the same time, dealing with the existing vulnerabilities of legacy 4G infrastructure is an added and significant risk for enterprises,” details Sakshi Grover, Research Manager, IDC India.

Raman of Fortinet adds that many organizations assume that a private 5G network will inherently keep them safe, which is not necessarily always the case. “5G private networks are rarely entirely isolated from the enterprise IT environment or external environments (partners, integrators, public cloud, etc.) and may be exposed to internal and external attacks and risks.”

Hence, in preparing to use 5G, organizations should pay close attention to the software-defined aspect of 5G infrastructure. It is very different from the Wi-Fi and 4G networks in use today. Implementing 5G network security requires a risk management framework that adapts to the flexibility and programmability of network services and traffic flows in software-defined networks.

How 5G security concerns differ from 4G

5G’s dynamic software-based systems have far more traffic routing points than the current hardware-based, centralized hub-and-spoke designs that 4G has.

One of the inherent vulnerabilities in 4G and LTE networks is that a subscriber’s unique identifier is unencrypted. 5G fixes that and helps identify and defend against ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks. In addition, 5G’s unified authentication framework improves usability, connectivity, and endpoint security by allowing open and network-agnostic authentication with 4G, LTE, Wi-Fi, and cable networks.

However, cyber threats impacting 5G won’t be because of its architecture but rather because of implantation flaws in 5G and the new technologies that started because of 5G. In fact, 5G could be more vulnerable to cyber-attacks compared to its predecessors. 5G uses a distributed software-based digital routing, unlike its predecessors, which utilize centralized hardware-defined switching.

“The previous generations of networks are based on hub-and-spoke designs, in which all issues converged at choke points and were cleaned away during cyber hygiene maintenance. However, the 5G software-defined network does not provide for chokepoint inspection and control as such activities are pushed outward to a web of digital routers throughout the network. Further, a shift from physical appliances to virtualization (like in the 5G case) will add to complications and make the network vulnerable to attacks. Also as the 5G network operates on software, the chances of hackers gaining access to the network are pretty high therefore protecting software vulnerabilities within the network may not be the most efficient way to provide overall security,” highlights Debasish Mukherjee, Vice President APJ, Sales, Sonicwall.

In addition, researchers have identified shortcomings in 5G NSA installations that enable downgrade attacks (also known as cross-protocol attacks), in which a phone’s connection is purposefully altered to downgrade to older networks, providing cybercriminals with access to vulnerabilities in 3G and 4G services, says Singh of Grant Thornton.

As 5G is a totally different architecture and is built ground up, it will require a lot more than just a security solution that is stitched to meet these requirements. The earlier generation of cellular networks relied on Signaling System 7 and Diameter protocols. 5G uses common internet protocols (IP) such as HTTP and Transport Layer Security (TLS). These open web protocols lower the entry barrier not only for operators but also for predators and hackers.

“What we need is a 5G network service that is built on an open, programmable, reliable, and software-driven Intelligent Cybersecurity Mesh that treats the internet (IP) itself as Zero Trust and relies heavily on strong encryption for all data transmitted, processed, or stored anywhere on it,” says Nilesh Gupta, Chief Cloud Officer, 3i Infotech.

Complexity in network partitioning with dynamic spectrum sharing

Current 4G systems use network partition methods to limit cyber attacks. Networks are subdivided by hardware to prevent the existence of a single point of failure. If one node of the network is attacked, it can be quarantined to limit the attack, without ceding control of the whole network. On the other hand, 5G uses short-range, low-cost, and small-cell physical antennas within the geographic area of coverage. Each antenna can become a single point of control. Botnet and denial of service (DDoS) type attacks can bring down whole portions of the network simply by overloading a single node.

While 5G is built for efficient network slicing, which allows customers to segregate sensitive and more generic data and provide precise security and privacy controls in the different slices; however, each slice from different, parallel communications is sent over the same bandwidth. Hence, each slice contributes to its cyber risk degree. “Dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) works by broadcasting 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G New Radio (NR) cellular wireless over the same frequency. DSS technology automatically allocates cellular resources between the two networks based on demand. It allows mobile network operators to allocate more spectrum resources to new technology as more users switch to 5G. For DSS to work, both technologies need to cooperate in tandem, creating added complexity,” details Dipesh Kaura, GM, South Asia, Kaspersky.

While DSS will bring significant benefits to mobile network operators (MNOs) enabling them to expand 5G coverage, we need to ensure synchronization between 4G and 5G systems while making measurements for DSS. “They must remain synchronized in the time and frequency domains to prevent resource block misalignment. The other key aspect to pay attention to is the fast coordination rate between the LTE and NR packet schedulers which is essential to handle the dynamic allocation of resources,” highlights Mukherjee of Sonicwall.

In order to maximize capacity, service providers will need to take DSS into account in relation to their spectrum holdings and technological advancement strategy which is a complexity posed by the network partitioning. The major obstacle to any cooperation or cohabitation between networks is the extremely varied pilot and synchronization signals needed by devices to coordinate and access the network in the two systems, highlights Singh of Grant Thornton.

However, few experts opine that the benefits of DSS outweigh the drawbacks in most situations. “DSS has a marginally negative 25 percent and 15 percent influence on the performance of 4G LTE and 5G NR, respectively. The performance hit is often well worth having the entire spectrum accessible to both networks. Due to their inability to understand the sub-frames, older LTE devices will not be able to access DSS networks employing MBSFN. Modern LTE devices with beam-forming capabilities can do so without any issues,” says Sonit Jain, CEO, GajShield Infotech.

Cyber resilience in the 5G platform

5G expands cyber risks due to factors like network decisions (switching and routing), which are more distributed. A shift from hub-spoke security to distributed security of telecom infra, the introduction of billions of devices, Session Description Protocol (SDP) based networks, etc. are making things more complex.

However, the ecosystem surrounding 5G can be better protected than that of previous generations, with security controls from stronger encryption to privacy protections built into networks by design.

As per experts, 5G has overcome many confidentiality and integrity challenges with previous networks like 4G/3G/2G as it has adopted ‘Secure by design principles.’ For example, UE (User Equipment like mobile or tablet) identity in 4G is sent over radio networks without encryption. Although a temporary identifier may be used to hide a subscriber’s long-term identity, researchers have shown that it has a flaw. 5G is designed in security controls to address these issues like mutual authentication capabilities, enhanced subscriber identity protection, and additional security mechanisms, states Gupta of 3i Infotech.

Stanislav Protassov, Co-Founder & Technology President, Acronis, highlights that the 4G protocol faced an issue with core network trusting base stations, which became a problem with the proliferation of nano base stations often installed indoors in locations making them available to malicious intruders. “5G aims to improve the authentication between the base stations and the core network as well as further strengthen subscriber protection against man-in-the-middle attacks over the radio,” he adds.

In fact, 5G may not provide 100 percent security but is more secure than its previous generation for comparable services and functionality. 5G provides better user authentication services as compared to 4G. In a 4G network, a SIM card is used to authenticate users, and considering the world of IoT devices today, it is difficult for a single SIM to cope with the requirements. Whereas in a 5G network user authentication, unique identities are assigned to individual devices, eliminating the requirement of SIM, and shifting the responsibility to an individual service provider, shares Ganjoo of F5.

He further adds, “Another area in which 5G excels from its previous generation is encryption. 5G uses 256-bit encryption as opposed to the 128-bit standard used by 4G, making it difficult to identify or locate from the moment users get on the network.”

In addition, some of 5G’s cyber resilience features allow it to provide better security:

• Protection of User-plane integrity: Unlike the previous generation, in a 5G network, the user-plane, which carries the network traffic is integrity protected.
• SEPP (Security Protection Proxy): 5G solves the security concerns of roaming interconnect, the SEPP ensures secure traffic among the 5G networks.
• Unified Authentication: 5G is known to connect various technologies such as IoT devices, WiFi, cloud platforms, etc. The mighty 5G brings in a unified authentication solution for access to these various technologies in the network. This feature of 5G will allow networks to control the authentication of the device.
• Enhanced Encryption: 5G provides enhanced security with better encryption, which conceals the identity of the user.

Although 5G has some built-in security, organizations will still need to integrate a larger cybersecurity strategy to confidently move to 5G applications. They need a solution that will provide comprehensive protection at 5G speeds without compromising end-to-end visibility, automation, and enforcement throughout the ecosystem’s attack surface.

Until then, enterprises are more inclined toward private 5G which can be expensive, complex, and lengthy to implement and maintain. On the other hand, consuming public 5G is significantly more cost-effective and rapid but offers less control and customization. “It is likely that private and hybrid (a combination of private and public 5G consumption) 5G networks will be the popular 5G enterprise consumption form. In fact, recent studies show that some organizations would rather use private 5G networks than public ones due to the critical and sensitive nature of industrial environments, processes, and operations,” says Raman of Fortinet.

Relook at network security in the 5G era

Traditionally, network security solutions assumed a single defensive layer for all services and content included within. “This method is no longer suitable as a network’s perimeter grows more distributed and linked, so a more complicated and multi-dimensional approach is necessary to augment or replace conventional firewalls with a larger zero-trust framework,” highlights Manoj Paul, Managing Director, Equinix India.

Experts opine that many existing and traditional security solutions can reduce the risk of the potential 5G security threat vectors, including security solutions created to validate user identities, edge resource identities, endpoints, location-aware identity and access management solutions, malware or incident response, encryption, and IPsec tunneling. “Organizations must also invest in real-time monitoring of network health and check the behavior of distributed environments along with maintaining centralized policy management over 5G connected core elements and sensitive and critical data residing both on-premises and in the cloud environment,” suggests Grover of IDC.

Further, businesses today depend on APIs for service and business integration. Lack of authentication or inadequate authorization can leave APIs vulnerable to attacks as they have the potential to introduce additional threat vectors into the network. To avoid this, businesses must use API Gateway solutions to ensure that 5G services achieve their requirements for low latency and other performance parameters.

Further, the dynamic nature of 5G’s network architecture requires a dynamic and fast-learning management system. Software-based and intelligent computing solutions are required for effective countermeasures. Hence, AI and machine learning can serve as powerful tools for 5G cybersecurity.

“Businesses must protect and manage every node of the network to efficiently leverage the benefits of 5G. One of the best technologies to manage networks in the 5G era is AI/ML; it can be used for planning and dimensioning decisions taken prior to network deployment. Artificial intelligence can help in obtaining insights to run the network better. It can also be used to dynamically reconfigure the network at different time scales,” shares Ganjoo of F5.

In fact, 5G can be a key enabler to drive ML/AI integration into the network edge. Embedding ML and AI into 5G networks can improve automation and adaptability, facilitating effective orchestration and dynamic network slice provisioning, adds Anurag Singh, Director and Head of Advanced Solutions, Ingram Micro India.

“The most effective approach would be to migrate from traditional, isolated point defense products to a security fabric designed to be integrated, automated, and open using open APIs and common standards. This approach must also combine single-pane-of-glass management and control with security technologies that can move seamlessly across traditional, SD-WAN, multi-cloud, and highly mobile endpoint and IoT devices for consistent visibility and control,” concludes Raman of Fortinet.

In fact, 5G technologies require a complete rehaul of network security, which isn’t possible without significant funding and executive support. This is a shared responsibility between both governments and 5G businesses. Government policies need to take into account where the market falls short and how it can be addressed. We need to invest now — before we’re caught with no sustainable cybersecurity plans in place.