Security, Privacy, and Trust for Open Radio Access Networks in 6G
The programmability of radio access networks was already introduced in the fifth generation of mobile networks by leading the pathway towards the Open RAN. To cater the stringent requirements emerging with the novel services and use cases, Open RAN is becoming integral to 6G as well. The most highli...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IEEE
2025-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10807044/ |
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| _version_ | 1850149743402942464 |
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| author | Pawani Porambage Maria Christopoulou Bin Han Mohammad Asif Habibi Hanna Bogucka Pawel Kryszkiewicz |
| author_facet | Pawani Porambage Maria Christopoulou Bin Han Mohammad Asif Habibi Hanna Bogucka Pawel Kryszkiewicz |
| author_sort | Pawani Porambage |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The programmability of radio access networks was already introduced in the fifth generation of mobile networks by leading the pathway towards the Open RAN. To cater the stringent requirements emerging with the novel services and use cases, Open RAN is becoming integral to 6G as well. The most highlighted characteristics of Open RAN such as disaggregated architecture, cloudification of network functions, open interfaces, and intelligent network management are also associated with many challenges related to the security of the end-to-end telco networks. Most existing research works and specifications focus on security in Open RAN in 5G. In this paper, we discuss the role of Open RAN in 6G focusing on three aspects such as security, privacy, and trust, while highlighting their emerging trends and relevance to 6G. Our contributions include presenting a holistic view of Open RAN security within the 6G ecosystem, with insights into use case and stakeholder perspectives and standardization efforts. This includes a concise update on Open RAN security in the 5G era and their applicability to 6G exploration. Moreover, we identify the key research endeavors focused on privacy and trust in Open RAN, with an emphasis on their development toward 6G. Finally, we discuss the possibilities of incorporating energy awareness, quantum-safe solutions, and other emerging technological enablers with Open RAN security. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fb5c1b5c9ccd46b9b3c8fb2d7d7b6e1d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2644-125X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-fb5c1b5c9ccd46b9b3c8fb2d7d7b6e1d2025-08-20T02:26:47ZengIEEEIEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society2644-125X2025-01-01633236110.1109/OJCOMS.2024.351972510807044Security, Privacy, and Trust for Open Radio Access Networks in 6GPawani Porambage0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7396-8424Maria Christopoulou1Bin Han2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2086-2487Mohammad Asif Habibi3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9874-0047Hanna Bogucka4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1709-4862Pawel Kryszkiewicz5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9054-9416VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, FinlandNational Centre of Scientific Research “Demokritos,”, Athens, GreeceUniversity of Kaiserslautern (RPTU), Kaiserslautern, GermanyUniversity of Kaiserslautern (RPTU), Kaiserslautern, GermanyPoznan University of Technology, Poznań, PolandPoznan University of Technology, Poznań, PolandThe programmability of radio access networks was already introduced in the fifth generation of mobile networks by leading the pathway towards the Open RAN. To cater the stringent requirements emerging with the novel services and use cases, Open RAN is becoming integral to 6G as well. The most highlighted characteristics of Open RAN such as disaggregated architecture, cloudification of network functions, open interfaces, and intelligent network management are also associated with many challenges related to the security of the end-to-end telco networks. Most existing research works and specifications focus on security in Open RAN in 5G. In this paper, we discuss the role of Open RAN in 6G focusing on three aspects such as security, privacy, and trust, while highlighting their emerging trends and relevance to 6G. Our contributions include presenting a holistic view of Open RAN security within the 6G ecosystem, with insights into use case and stakeholder perspectives and standardization efforts. This includes a concise update on Open RAN security in the 5G era and their applicability to 6G exploration. Moreover, we identify the key research endeavors focused on privacy and trust in Open RAN, with an emphasis on their development toward 6G. Finally, we discuss the possibilities of incorporating energy awareness, quantum-safe solutions, and other emerging technological enablers with Open RAN security.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10807044/Open radio access networksecurityprivacytrust6G |
| spellingShingle | Pawani Porambage Maria Christopoulou Bin Han Mohammad Asif Habibi Hanna Bogucka Pawel Kryszkiewicz Security, Privacy, and Trust for Open Radio Access Networks in 6G IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society Open radio access network security privacy trust 6G |
| title | Security, Privacy, and Trust for Open Radio Access Networks in 6G |
| title_full | Security, Privacy, and Trust for Open Radio Access Networks in 6G |
| title_fullStr | Security, Privacy, and Trust for Open Radio Access Networks in 6G |
| title_full_unstemmed | Security, Privacy, and Trust for Open Radio Access Networks in 6G |
| title_short | Security, Privacy, and Trust for Open Radio Access Networks in 6G |
| title_sort | security privacy and trust for open radio access networks in 6g |
| topic | Open radio access network security privacy trust 6G |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10807044/ |
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