In addition to improved network speed, 5G offers a new, open architecture philosophy and distributed approach to computing. And as a result, both hardware and software vendors are creating more technologies than ever to leverage. However, one unfortunate side effect of having more players involved is increased vulnerabilities, elevating the importance of 5G security for your applications.
5G's improvements - and the challenge they present
There are multiple reasons 5G infrastructure is attractive to communication services providers (CoSPs).
First, with its service-based architecture, 5G allows all network functions in the service plane. Second, its cloud-native framework is efficient, enabling a wide range of devices to connect, including newer Edge-native servers and IoTe. Finally, with greater network control, individual services can be isolated and made into sources of revenue.
However, despite its significant benefits, 5G can also increase a network's attack surface and present other unique threats. Therefore, a new approach to security is required to leverage its advantages fully.
5G security threats - who's behind them
One must first understand the players to appreciate the security challenges accompanying 5G. They include:
Hackers - As you can guess, today's hackers are more sophisticated than ever. They're no longer interested in mere access to applications. Instead, they're attacking at the OS level.
Malicious Insiders - Given the tight labor market, IT professionals and high-level employees frequently move on to other opportunities. Unfortunately, some leave with a potent combination of yet-to-be revoked admin privileges and ill intent.
Third Parties - With millions of dollars riding on the latest applications. Some companies will attempt to steal intellectual property from their competitors. As a result, competitive espionage is a real threat in the 5G age.
5G security threats - where they attack
Perhaps an organization's most valuable electronic resource is its data. And so, the primary motive for the attackers mentioned above is finding a way to access it. For security leaders, it's important to note that with the advent of 5G networks, there is no one place where data is inherently safe. Attackers can find access to data at rest, like in storage, data in flight, when it's being transmitted, and data in use, when applications are processing it.
5G security threats - unique challenges
Before 5G, 4G, and earlier networks were single-vendor and proprietary. CoSPs themselves ran their platforms, making access to hackers difficult. Today, however, thanks to the many agreed-upon 5G standards, many vendors have created solutions with varying resistance levels to hacking.
The third-party 5G applications running today live in private, public, and hybrid cloud environments, creating more access points to corporate networks. These vulnerabilities are further exacerbated because 5G devices live in core data centers, the cloud, multi-tenant environments, and less secure Edge locations.
The net result for security leaders is that traditional perimeter-only security is insufficient to meet today's threats.
The 5G security solution
Before 5G, 4G, and earlier networks were single-vendor and proprietary. CoSPs themselves ran their platforms, making access to hackers difficult. Today, however, thanks to the many agreed-upon 5G standards, many vendors have created solutions with varying resistance levels to hacking.
Some of these measures include:
Data and workload code protection - to allow data to remain out of reach of unauthorized personnel
ecure key management - to provide for the authentication and verification of credentials at multiple points in the network
API security - to ensure that APIs are not used to exploit application or network weaknesses
Crypto acceleration - to not only provide data encryption but also remove the penalty it places on processor performance
Firmware resilience - to enable servers to boot and reboot securely when necessary
Intel's end-to-end hardware security solution With the introduction of its 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, Intel has incorporated security down to the CPU level. Together the following capabilities combine to create the ideal 5G Edge-to-core security framework:
Intel Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX) - protects an application's code and data from exposure or tampering. It also creates a protected enclave in which keys are delivered securely from a critical server.
Intel Security Libraries for Data Center (Intel SecL - DC) - provides standard, secure APIs to deploy Intel's security solutions.
Intel Crypto Acceleration - is a built-in feature of 3rd Generation Intel Scalable processors that enables processor-level encryption without a performance penalty.
Intel Platform Firmware Resilience (Intel PFR) - preserves the integrity of a server's firmware and monitors and filters for suspicious traffic on system buses. In addition, if necessary, the system can restore firmware from a protected image in the event of corruption.
UNICOM Engineering - the ideal 5G security partner When deploying end-to-end, hardware-level 5G security, who better to work with than a hardware expert? UNICOM Engineering has maintained high-level partnerships with tier-one hardware vendors like Intel, Dell Technologies, and HPE. So as your network expands, be sure your network security grows with it. To learn more, contact UNICOM Engineering today.