Cybersecurity
Antonio Calderon, chief technology officer, NCI Agency, speaking at the Nato Edge conference in 2022.
and counter harmful disinformation. “Ensuring responsible deployment of these technologies is essential to combat these challenges. In this sense, recent government announcements on responsible development and use of AI are promising, but this is a difficult technology to control fully,” he adds.
85% Ericsson 28
The forecast global 5G population coverage by the end of 2029.
Defence applications for 5G networks Of course, resilience isn’t the only issue that Calderon’s office is focused on. Nations across the alliance are investing in infrastructure to implement 5th generation mobile networks, also known as 5G, which has the potential to create vulnerabilities that could be exploited by bad actors. “As a telecoms engineer, mobile networks technologies are close to my heart,” says Calderon, having previously worked in that part of the civil sector. 5G networks are typically deployed as cellular infrastructure by telecommunications operators under a highly regulated construct, he explains. However, 5G standards – and their evolutions – have transformative technical characteristics and support usage scenarios that go beyond tradition applications like mobile broadband, permeating into new domains such as private IT infrastructure, critical communications for public emergency and safety services, and so on. This includes defence applications in different contexts, including defence users deploying private 5G systems or making use of public 5G infrastructure. One of the technical features of 5G standards, which cover both the access and the core networks elements, is network slicing, Calderon explains. This feature enables the creation of separate network infrastructure built on the same physical network, through virtualisation of full-blown network
functions including mobile network core functions – access infrastructure, mobility management, radio capacity and so on.
This allows mobile network operators to offer totally segregated network services to different users, including critical communications users – such as emergency services and security forces – and potentially military users as well. According to Calderon, at least one Nato nation is implementing a defence slice across national mobile networks to provide in-area – meaning ‘within national territory’ – seamless coverage and mobility services to military users. Of course, this advanced concept requires the implementation of trusted networks by mobile operators and a range of security measures. Other approaches are possible and are being considered by other Nato nations, from private defence networks to hybrid arrangements combining private networks or extensions, along with use of public infrastructure by the military – often referred to as ‘operate through’. That’s not to say, of course, that the increasing implementation of both public and private 5G infrastructure doesn’t come with its fair share of challenges. As Calderon notes, in the future, this technology will be considered critical to the ongoing function of society, and as such it is essential to ensure access to it – and to implement secure and resilient 5G networks against all potential threats, including supply chain aspects. “Nations are mitigating these risks through the development of policies and strategies in this area, such as the EU toolbox of risk mitigation measures for 5G networks and the recent Nato 5G strategy,” he adds.
The main challenges around 5G in terms of network security and resilience include, as in any digital
Defence & Security Systems International /
www.defence-and-security.com
NCI Agency
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