“Work-in-Progress” Structuring the Complexity: An Ontological Approach to Analyze the Cybersecurity of a 5G Service
Andrea Bernardini, Francesco D'Alterio, Leonardo Sagratella, M. Settembre, Nicolò Maunero · 2024
The transformative potential of 5G networks in reshaping industries, critical infrastructures, and society is widely recognized. Far beyond just a progressive upgrade from previous generations, 5G offers enhanced performance and introduces disruptive features grounded in a cloud-native, fully programmable, and service-oriented paradigm. However, due to the complexity and the variety of deployment and configuration options in 5G scenarios and the expanded attack surface, 5G security emerges as a paramount concern. The diverse range of potential attacks, coupled with the evolving nature of threats and vulnerabil-ities, underscores the urgent need for novel approaches to risk assessment and threat modeling. In response to these challenges, this paper proposes a foundational ontological framework, delineating the concepts and underlying relationships for end-to-end 5G services within a service-based network architecture, integrating cybersecurity features such as security measures, vulnerability assessments, and threat modeling. While not exhaustive or definitive, this ontological metamodel serves as a crucial initial step towards establishing a structured and systematic approach to building a comprehensive 5G cybersecurity knowledge base (KB). By leveraging this framework, innovative ontology-based tools and methodologies can be subsequently developed to address the complexities of 5G risk security and assessment.