Secure and Trustworthy 5G Networks
- Reference number
- SM14-0016
- Start and end dates
- 150101-170630
- Amount granted
- 1 372 000 SEK
- Administrative organization
- KTH - Royal Institute of Technology
- Research area
- Information, Communication and Systems Technology
Summary
Our society greatly depends on mobile communications. As billions of people and devices become connected, it becomes increasingly important to guarantee security of interactions of all players involved in a network. The proposed project addresses this important, many-folded problem. Our aims are: 1. To create new cutting-edge knowledge which provides innovative cryptographic solutions for 5G mobile communication networks. 2. To verify that new solutions meet 5G technical requirements together with the industrial partner. 3. To provide assurance in the new security solutions. 4. To analyze how to incorporate the new solutions into standards in industries such as the telecom. 5. To understand further research needs of 5G technology. The secondary goal of this project is mobility by itself. Elena Dubrova's expertise in secure, fault-tolerant and trustworthy design will complement the competence of the hosting Ericsson's team. In return, she will be able to evaluate her research ideas in an industrial environment of a world-class R&D company. Expected results include strengthened collaboration between KTH and Ericsson, knowledge transfer between KTH and Ericsson, development of cross-sector skills and competence, scientific publications, patents, ideas for new research areas. These results will contribute to maintaining and strengthening the Swedish excellence at the strategic area of wireless communications.
Popular science description
The goal of this project is to create new cutting-edge knowledge which provides innovative cryptographic solutions for 5G mobile communication networks. Our society greatly depends on mobile communications. As billions of people and devices become connected, it becomes increasingly important to guarantee security of interactions of all players involved in the network. The demands for secure and efficient mobile devices are expected to grow with new generations of products and applications, as the required computational effort and data rates will significantly increase. The proposed project will address two aspects of this important, many-folded problem. On one hand, we will develop a secure cryptographic system for 5G mobile communication networks. Such a system will small and energy-efficient in order to satisfy extreme limitations of mobile devices in 5G technology, randing from high-end mobile terminals to low-cost resource-constrained wireless sensors or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. The developed cryptosystem will provide high levels of confidentiality and integrity of data for vital societal functions such as traffic, e-health, smart-city management, and environmental monitoring. It will enable an entirely new range of services that are appealing to the users and will help improving operational efficiencies in transportation, logistics, retail, agriculture, health care and many other applications. On the other hand, in today's globalized world where manufacturing is typically outsourced it is equally important to trust hardware platforms on which mobile communication networks operate. For example, malicious alterations inserted into a design (hardware Trojans) can allow for backdoors into a system in spite of cryptographic protection. In addition, new forms of attacks on implementation that exploit side-channel signals or physically intrude a chip continuously appear. In this project, we will develop innovative detection mechanisms that can reveal a Trojan in a design before it is able to do any harm. We will also create new countermeasures that can oppose implementation attacks. Our results will help assuring trustworthiness of hardware which is essential for successful deployment and operation of wireless networks. Wireless communication is a top strategic area in which Sweden keeps a leadership position. This project will contribute to maintaining and strengthening the Swedish excellence in this area.