Early Detection of Security Holes in the Network

Introduction

5G will entertain users and devices with high mobility in an ultrareliable and affordable manner, enable connectivity of many machines as part of the Internet of Things, and provide ubiquitous broadband services. IP-based communication in 4G has already contributed to creating new business opportunities. 5G is regarded as a brand-new ecosystem that connects nearly all aspects of society, automobiles, household appliances, health care, businesses, etc., to the internet. However, a new set of security flaws and threats (Ambika N., 2020) (Ambika N., 2022) will be introduced due to this development, posing a significant threat to both current and future networks.

The life cycle has four stages (represented in Figure 1)-

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  Preparation stage - This phase focuses on the preparation, design, creation, and modification of the network slices. An arrangement of elements and their configuration is referred to as a slice. Content exposure, data leakage, injected malware, and other attacks could result from errors in the network slice template. These attacks could compromise the network's confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity by allowing access to unencrypted channels and user data leakage from the databases. Security measures like encrypting and decrypting the slice template and performing real-time security analysis are necessary to stop these kinds of attacks.

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  Installation, configuration and activation stage - Installation of the slices onto the network, the configuration of the services following the request, and activation of the pieces—that is, as ready-to-use software or service—are all part of the second phase of the life cycle. The actual danger in this stage is the production of phony cuts and re-designing the cuts during or before the last actuation. These attacks focus on APIs, which can ultimately impact installation and configuration and result in an activation error in a slice. Safety efforts should be taken to get APIs by giving functional and availability freedoms to the approved individuals and using TLS or O-Auth for confirmation and approval.

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  Run time stage - This phase lets you know that the slice is being used and lets you change its requirements, configuration, resource allocation, deallocation, and network functions. The objectives of assaults in this stage are regulators, hypervisors, the general cloud framework, control channels, and bringing together control components. However, attacks continue to primarily target APIs. Performance attacks, privacy breaches, and data exposure are all types of attacks. The safety efforts that should be taken care of validation and uprightness of the organization cuts to forestall counterfeit solicitations, cut seclusion to forestall DoS and DDoS assaults, and secure-5G displaying to forestall availability of unapproved and pernicious solicitations. Additionally, dynamic NFV can be utilized, which provides a security mechanism on demand.

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  Deactivation stage - It is the last period of the organization's cut life cycle, in which the assets and organization's capabilities feel better. The slice has been removed from use. Even after decommissioning the portion, the most common threats that can harm the network are improper resource and network function use and slice handling. User information databases, cloud storage, and centralized control elements are the targets of these attacks. To avoid attacks during this phase, resources and network functions no longer in use should be appropriately redirected, and sensitive data no longer required should be deleted.

Figure 1.

Life cycle of slice and the associated threats

(Dangi, et al., 2022)