Workshop: Addressing 6G Cybersecurity and Privacy challenges (IEEE CAMAD 2024)

Cybersecurity and Privacy are of utmost importance in beyond-5G and future 6G network. 6G concepts will continue evolving towards release 21+ 3GPP, also leveraging developments from European SNS JU initiative. To address cybersecurity challenges in advance is paramount while system is designed. Key trends of the 6G landscape, in addition to their obvious technical and business value, as expected, are accompanied with a drastic increase in the attack surface compared to legacy cellular network infrastructures. Such trends which introduce additional security implications are:

• Disaggregation and cloud-native paradigm, expanding to the enhanced-SBA with full network virtualization. Disaggregation with a ‘cloud-native’ approach from RAN to Edge to Core, also continuing the virtualization trends (e.g. NFV/SDN)
• Multi-vendor and multi-stakeholder models introduce more complexity to manage in a multidomain environment. Zero touch security management over multidomain and disaggregated networks.
• Network openness and exposure APIs for 3rd party applications. 
• Secure, trusted and privacy-preserving environment for supporting the next generation of trustworthy continuum computing 6G services.
• More “intelligent network”, AI adoption for both aspects; i) Smart network management and more autonomous (including secure lifecycle management) and ii) Security threat analysis and reaction (including policies and applying mitigation actions). Trustworthy in networks.
• Smooth combination of public MNOs with other access technologies with special attention to NPN (private networks)
•  Edge-cloud continuum adding the so-called extreme edge (Robots, IoT, etc) to the Management & Orchestration (control plane) scope. The 6G Network is expected to integrate heterogeneous resources with the inclusion of far-edge and extensive Edge nodes usage. 

Regardless on impressive new 6G connectivity KPIs (in terms of bandwidth, latency, reliability, energy efficiency), the 6G system design and its future operation should comply highest standards of cybersecurity and privacy as a critical shared infrastructure. Moreover, in the 6G multi-actor pluralistic environment, privacy is pivotal, not only for the end users, but also for all involved stakeholders; and it needs to be considered as a key requirement in all technologies of the network stack, including security mechanisms.

The use and application of AI and network digital twins (DTs) for the identification, analysis and mitigation of attacks is a key part of the proposed workshop discussion. The workshop will introduce latest technical advances and concepts around cybersecurity in 6G addressed within three SNS JU projects (HORSE, PRIVATEER and RIGOROUS). From flagship Hexa-X-II project, the architectural aspects and their impact on 6G security will be introduced together with some other key topics such as physical layer security and quantum safe 6G infrastructure. Moreover, the security and privacy aspects are particularly discussed with respect to the most highlighted 6G use case families identified in Hexa-X-II project. The concept of key value indicators (KVIs) such as social and environmental sustainability and their role in defining new 6G end-to-end system on trustworthy infrastructure will be presented as the latest updates to the research community.

This workshop aims at bringing together top researchers in both areas of cybersecurity and 6G network under the umbrella of the EU SNS JU projects to share their ideas and research results, and hence create an opportunity for synergy with other projects acting a acts as central discussion hub for European research. In this workshop, special focus will be given novel approaches and strategies to deal with cybersecurity issues.

A round table with 4 invited experts in the second part of the workshop. We are requesting a 5′ position pitch (in advance) about challenges and key questions posed to participants (as indicated below). In addition, the new SNS phase-2 projects addressing security & privacy topics are also invited to introduce their initial approach. The overall goal of the workshop is to discuss common technical roadmaps, necessary actions to impact WGs and precisely SDOs, and inter-project opportunities for collaboration as well.

Workshop structure

The workshop is originally planned as a FULL DAY workshop and it will be structured as follows in 4 sessions of 1h30min each:

11.00 – 12.30 Session 1

Keynote 
– Future 6G and cybersecurity challenges.   Diego Lopez (Telefonica)

Technical presentations
– Should we sacrifice privacy for security?
Maria Christopoulou (NCSRDemokritos from PRIVATEER)
– Using Network Digital Twins to detect, study and mitigate network attacks
Antonio Pastor (Telefonica, from HORSE)
– AI-driven Automated Security Orchestration, Trust Management, and deployment
Jorge Bernal (University of Murcia from RIGOROUS) 
– ePEM: an End-to-End Proactive Secure Connectivity Manager for 6G Orchestrator Solutions
Alessandro Carrega (UNIGE, Italy)

Lunch Break

14.00 – 15.30 Session 2

Keynote 
– The use of AI in cybersecurity threat detection.   Orazio Toscano (Ericsson).

Technical panel of 6G cybersecurity  topics
Round table with interactive discussion. Selected panellist from SNS JU Stream B 01 04 projects

• Diego Lopez (Telefonica)
• Harilaos Koumaras (Demokritos)
• Antonio Skarmeta (UMU)
• Shuaib Siddiqui (i2CAT)
• Giorgios Gardikis (SpaceHellas)
• Orazio Toscano (Ericsson)

Coffee Break

16.00 – 17.45 Session 3

– Security, Privacy and System-Level Resillience of 6G End-to-End System: Hexa-X-II Perspective
Pawani Porambage (VTT)
– 6G End-to-End System: Hexa-X-II Perspective on Physical Layer Security (PLS)
Bin Han (RPTU)
– 6G End-to-End System: Quantum Safe Cryptography
Antonio Pastor (Telefonica) 
– AI Enabled Threat Intelligence for Zero-Trust based Security in 6G networks: iTrust6G Approach
Shuaib Siddiqui (i2CAT)
– SAFE-6G: An AI-Assisted User-centric Trustworthy Network
Harilaos Koumaras (NCSR Demokritos)
– Roadmap for quantum-safe 6G infrastructure
Antonio Pastor (Telefonica)

Website of the workshop: https://camad2024.ieee-camad.org/addressing-6g-cybersecurity-and-privacy-challenges

Website of the event: https://camad2024.ieee-camad.org/