Security for 5G

This paper builds upon prior 5G Americas publications addressing 5G security by providing considerations for securing 5G in Private, Public, and Hybrid cloud deployment models. Topics such as orchestration, automation, cloud-native security, and application programming interface (API) security are addressed while also discussing the transition from perimeter-based security to a zero-trust architecture to protect assets and data from external and internal threats.

Supply chain security with focus on the use of trusted suppliers, secure use of open-source software, secure software development, DevSecOps, and internal adoption of software bill of materials (SBOM) as part of a software assurance program is disucssed, too. The paper provides a current assessment of Open RAN security as its standards continue to mature to meet the level of security expected by 5G network operators and their users.