Challenges in Next Generation Network Security

The rapid evolution of communications technologies drives the need for more innovative services anywhere and at any time. The economic, military, and educational sectors are the driving forces behind this movement, which is in line with calls for greater productivity and safer, more comfortable daily living. New technologies are typically utilized as soon as they are made available.

The network infrastructure is essential to the domestic and global flow of goods and services because it serves all economic sectors.

The growing interconnectivity among networks impacts the chances and effects of attacks within a next generation network scenario, according to a report by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI). Businesses and operators in the financial and banking industries, energy and natural resource industries, internet service providers and telecommunications, mass transit and other forms of storage and chemical production, transportation, food distribution, and government services are regarded as critical facilities, and their disruption or interference can have a significant negative impact on society as a whole.

Security Challenges for Next Generation Networks

In order to meet the security requirements of the latest technical advancements, this circumstance pushes research institutes and standardization organizations to change their study fields, norms, and regulations. A major problem is the absence of a suitable strategy to ensure that all security criteria are met. Three security layers, eight security dimensions, and three security planes make up the ITU-NGN-specific T’s security model. Despite offering a comprehensive picture of network security, it places severe requirements that may be challenging to meet in practical situations, mostly because of the ongoing changes in technology and system designs. Security has been acknowledged as a critical enabler and differentiator for next generation networks, but it is still unclear how it will be guaranteed in the end.

This article aims to look into the possible addition of new elements to the proposed ITU-T security framework that would allow it to identify threats and vulnerabilities and respond appropriately dynamically.

This study examines the next generation network security framework from a methodological angle. It should be remembered that interdisciplinary research for new technologies is being done to find new, alternative security mechanisms for NGNs and future networks. What has to be safeguarded and how it needs to be protected are essential considerations. The first question relates to NGN consumers and operators, while the second is determined by the technology and security measures now in use. These questions cannot have a definitive resolution; hence we argue that any practical and successful solution must be able to adapt over time to the deployment and use of NGN systems.

Next Generation Network Architecture Framework

Consolidating current networks into a single packet-based network architecture is the goal of NGN. The service-related capabilities in NGNs are independent of the transport technology. The ITU-T defines NGN technically as a packet-based network that can offer services, such as telecommunication services, and that can utilize a variety of broadband, quality of service-enabled transport technologies. It also describes NGN as having service-related functions that are independent of underlying transport-related technologies.

ITU-T has put up a standardization study plan for NGN security. At the ITU-T meeting in September 2008, the specific security standardization items for the current Study Period (2009 to 2012) were put out. Numerous crucial security analyses are currently being developed or have recently been proposed due to the rapid pace of technology change. It goes without saying that before full comprehension of the problem space, no solution can be fully embraced.

The current fundamental ideas guiding NGN architecture are:

● Resource and admission control, 
● Accommodation of legacy terminals and systems, 
● Personal and terminal mobility, 
● Quality of Service selection & control, 
● Security, Separation between service and transport.

The service convergence in NGN will make the ability to offer visual data, audio, video, and voice via session-based and interactive services in multicast, unicast and broadcast formats. Both wireless and wired technologies are used in this convergence, and both can be used to supply services. The idea is that NGN could be used whenever, anywhere, and in any setting utilizing suitable terminal equipment. The NGN framework is divided into two strategies—transportation and services—to achieve this goal. Resources and management and control mechanisms are part of every strategy.

Security Solutions and Analysis

The ISO/IEC 15408 standard specifies the goals and specifications for information technology security for NGNs. The major goal is to reduce potential risks to a satisfactory level to all NGN stakeholders.

Attacks come from a greater variety of sources and are more complex, unpredictable, and regular. However, it doesn’t seem as though the current standards, solutions, or approaches adequately support the necessary security evaluations.

The success of security goals depends heavily on standardization. The research and standardization bodies do not have enough time to fully assess all potential vulnerabilities and threats prior to the deployment of innovations due to the rapid advancement of technology.

Many developed nations, including Japan, South Korea, the United States, China, and the United Kingdom, have already deployed NGNs.

There are a number of reasons why the present techniques for analyzing flaws, threats, and hazards as reference studies are insufficient to achieve security goals and standardize NGNs. These explanations are as follows:

● Each new NGN service may contain a unique combination of cutting-edge hardware and software, and this combination may carry various complicated risks and dangers. The composition of services does not automatically mean that the higher services take on the security characteristics of their lower services. Every new composition increases the number of vulnerabilities and threats, hence every new service needs a unique security study. For instance, VoIP makes use of the Internet infrastructure, the PSTN’s protocols, and the conventional communications system. 
● Vulnerabilities result from mistakes or oversights made when designing things like protocols, for example. They are consequently intrinsically vulnerable, such as SIP and 802.11b. Global Voice over Internet service providers use SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), an IP-based signaling protocol, and it is a key component of NGN-based telephony networks. In actuality, protocols are implemented without a thorough and conclusive demonstration of their security capabilities. Protocols evolve throughout time, integrating patches and advancing with the inclusion of new capabilities. Each new version, which differs from its predecessors, has various vulnerabilities that aren’t fully understood at the time of deployment.