Subject:

The Enabling of 6G Within

Both Artificial Intelligence
and Machine Learning
also, Its Impacts On
Cyber Security.

Research Done By:

ABIDI roua
BEN TEKAYA jihene
 SUMMARY

Introduction
Chapiter 1: Evolution of Wireless Communication 1G to 5G
Chapiter 2: Road To 6G
1. Specifications
2. Requirements
Chapiter 3: Fundamental Enabling Of 6G
1. The Expanding Role of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
1.1. Self-Optimizing Transmitters and Receivers
1.2. Cognitive Spectrum Use
1.3. Context Awareness
2. The Network with the Sixth Sense
Chapiter 4: Expected Product 6G
1. Design
2. Architecture
2.2 Sub-Networks
2.3 Hyper-Specialized Slicing
2.4 RAN-Core Convergence
Chapiter 5: Impact of 6G On Cyber Security
1. New Security, Privacy and Trust Paradigms
2. Network security architecture and cryptographic technologies
2.1 Network Security Architecture in 6G
2.2 Post-Quantum Crypto-Security in the 6G Architecture
3 Privacy protection in 6G
3.1 Privacy Requirements
3.2 Standardization and Regulatory Aspects
Conclusion

1
 Introduction

Since antiquity, man has not stopped looking for different means to convey
the message to his correspondent and therefore to communicate. Thus, the human
being, through these successive eras, has provided his intellectual as well as
physical efforts in order to discover adequate methods of communication. At the
start of the 20th century, the inventions of basic electronic components and
circuits (transistors, integrated circuits, etc.) and of good quality which pushed
telecommunications towards computer networks.

With the deployment of 5G systems in full swing, the research focus toward
6G mobile cellular systems has begun. Keeping up with the tradition of a new
generation of cellular system once every ten years or so, there is an expectation
that a 6G system will be standardized with deployments starting before 2030. Since
it often takes more than ten years for a novel technology to see the commercial
daylight, it is time to begin research on novel technology components for 6G.
2
 But what is a 6G network? And how will it differ from 5G networks? So far,
the 6G network has no standard functions or specifications, just many possibilities.

Some people contend that 6G networks should be more than just a faster
version of a 5G network, but rather the improvement of the 5G technology in all
aspects. For example, coverage should not be limited to the ground level, as is the
case with the 5G network. Instead, it should provide full space undersea surface
coverage. The 6G network should also have much higher Artificial Intelligence (AI)
capabilities.

In fact, in the view of many researchers, the 6G network should be an “AI-

empowered” network, meaning AI is both its driver and most prominent feature. It
should not merely use AI in its architecture as the 5G network does. The 6G
network should be a deep integration of currently emerging AI tools and
networking functions. Moreover, as issues on the security and privacy of networks
have become increasingly important in recent years, risk mitigation should be an
integral component of the architecture.

Therefore, in this research, we will discuss the possible additions to the 5G

network that could come together to make up the 6G network, along with the
security and privacy challenges associated with each key technology and potential
applications for 6G networks going forward.

3
CHAPTER 1: Evolution of Wireless Communication 1G to 5G

1G:
The 1G network was introduced in the 1980s and designed for voice services. It
relies on analogy signals to transmit information and has no established wireless
standard. This leads to many disadvantages, including hard handovers, a lack of
security and privacy guarantees, and low transmission efficiency. Phone services are
not encrypted, meaning that data transmissions and phone conversations can
neither be secure nor private. As a result, the entire network and its users face
significant security and privacy challenges, including cloning, eavesdropping, and
illegal access.

2G:
The 2G network is based on digital modulation techniques, such as Time
Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), which
can support both voice and short message services. The most important and widely
used mobile communication standard in 2G is GSM (Global System for Mobile
Communications). The purpose of the GSM is to make the system as secure as a
4
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Its security and privacy services include:
anonymity, authentication, signalling protection, and user data protection.

Anonymity is achieved through the use of temporary identifiers, which make it

difficult to track the user’s real identity. However, the real identity must be used
when the device is first switched on, after which a temporary identifier is issued.
While Authentication is mostly used by network operators to identify users, the
authentication mechanism is an encryption-based approach referred to as
“challenge and response”. When it comes to Signalling and user data protection,
they are also implemented using encryption, and the Subscriber Identity Module
(SIM) plays an important role in the encryption keys. There are two main methods
for preserving privacy for users: the first is radio path encryption, and the second is
Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI).

However, despite the great improvements in security and privacy over 1G, 2G
still suffers from many weaknesses. One important security issue is that the
authentication is one-way; the network authenticates the user, but users cannot
authenticate the network, which results in security holes. Illegal devices, such as
base stations, can disguise themselves as legitimate network members, deceiving
users and stealing their information. Moreover, the encryption is not end-to-end.
Only part of the wireless channel is encrypted, and there is also no encryption in the
fixed network, which provides adversaries with an opportunity for attack. In terms
of privacy, the radio path encryption and TMSI have some limitations and are
exposed to various types of attacks, such as eavesdropping.

3G:
The 3G network emerged in 2000 to provide “high-speed” data transmission
and access to the internet, which means at least 2 Mbps. However, this speed could
support advanced services that are not possible in the 1G and 2G networks,
including web browsing, TV streaming, and video services.

The security of the 3G system is based on the 2G technologies. That is to say,

GSM and other elements incorporated in 2G proved to be necessary, while
additional robust security elements also needed to be adopted. The 3G also reduces
some of the security weaknesses of the 2G and introduces the Authentication and
Key Agreement (AKA) as well as two-way authentication. Moreover, the 3rd
5
Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) provides a complete security system
governing access that comprises two parts: air interface security, which is mainly
used to protect users and the signaling information transmitted by wireless links;
and the provision of user network authentication to ensure the physical reliability of
users and both sides of the network. In terms of privacy, 3GPP incorporates some
subscriber privacy requirements for 3G users, such as confidentiality of user identity,
location and traceability.

However, the 3G networks are still vulnerable to threats associated with the
Internet Protocol (IP) traffic and encryption keys. Further, the radio interface
between the terminal equipment and the service network also provides
opportunities for a set of attacks. Threats related to wireless interface attacks fall
into the following categories: unauthorized access to data; threats to integrity;
Denial of Service (DOS); unauthorized access to services. Privacy issues are mostly
related to certain types of attacks, such as AKA error messages, designed to destroy
user identities and confidential or sensitive information.

4G:
The 4G of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks were introduced in 2009,
providing the data rate of up to 1 Gbit/s on the downlink and up to 500 Mbits/s on
the uplink. These networks provide better spectrum efficiency and reduced latency,
which means they can meet the requirements of advanced applications, such as
Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), High Definition Television (HD TV) content and
video chat. The LTE integrates a mix of existing and new technologies, such as
Coordinated Multi-Point Transmission and Reception (CoMR), Multiple Input
Multiple Output (MIMO) and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM).

Examples of 4G systems include IP backbone networks, wireless core networks,

wireless access networks, and smart mobile terminals. Therefore, the relevant
security threats mainly come from these areas: wireless link security issues,
eavesdropping, tampering, insertion, or deletion of data, and network entity
authentication issues, both wireless and hardwired among others.

The 4G network is more vulnerable to security and privacy threats than the
previous networks because users interact more closely with mobile terminals. As
participants of all wireless protocols and executors of various wireless applications,
interactions via 4G become more complex, and threats become more widespread.

6
Moreover, due to improvements of computing and storage capabilities of mobile
terminals, an increasing number of malicious programs can be executed, which may
cause more damage. Typical examples include viruses, tampering with hardware
platforms, operating system vulnerabilities, etc.

In addition, due to defects in key management protocols, the Worldwide

Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards have some MAC layer
vulnerabilities, such as DoS, eavesdropping, and replay attacks. The LTE networks
are also vulnerable to DoS attacks, data integrity attacks, illegal use of users and
mobile devices, and Medium Access Control (MAC) layer location tracking.

5G:
As we stand on the brink of the 5G network, we can look forward to faster
speeds, more complete systems, and more secure architectures. The main
advancement of 5G networks is to facilitate the connection of an increasing number
of devices and provide high-quality services for all devices simultaneously.
Moreover, the supported devices will not be limited to smartphones; other devices
like IoT equipment can also connect to the network.

The security and privacy issues in 5G networks can perhaps best be divided by
network architecture and, more specifically, into three tiers of the architecture: the
access networks, the backhaul networks, and the core network. In access networks,
the diversity of nodes and access mechanisms give rise to some new security
challenges as handovers between different access technologies increase the risk of
attack.

As far as the backhaul network is concerned, backhaul communication occurs

between the base station and the core network, which can be realized through
wireless channels, microwaves and sometimes satellite links, as well as wired lines.

In the absence of connections between devices, these networks encounter

fewer security and privacy threats than access networks. The vulnerabilities they do
have come from adjusted elements of the access network, such as EUTRAN Node B
(eNB) or the Mobility Management Entity (MME) in the core network, although the
GPRS Tunnel Protocol (GTP) can provide some additional security guarantees.
Moreover, the backhaul network is shifted into the data plane using Network
Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) techniques,
so that security threats are also transmitted to the core network.
7
 In 5G networks, the core network consists of functions. NFV, SDN and cloud
techniques make the networks more dynamic than before, which, again, gives rise
to a greater suite of vulnerabilities. For example, a massive number of devices and
services can overwhelm the signaling load, which leads to the increased possibility
of a DoS or resource attack. So far, two methods have been developed to address
signaling overloads. The first is to use lightweight authentication and key agreement
protocols to support communication for a huge number of devices. The second
involves using protocols that allow the devices to be grouped together through
various group-based AKA protocols.

In terms of security, the new techniques used to improve the performance of

the 5G network also create security holes. For example, massive MIMOs help to
disguise passive and active eavesdropping. OpenFlow implementation of SDN
increases threats from malicious applications or activities. Moreover, NFV raises
security issues while a service or function is being migrated from one resource to
another.

There are also new privacy issues to contend with due to the diversity of
business types and application scenarios in 5G networks. The openness of the
platform can mean that a user’s sensitive information can easily and frequently
change from a closed state to an open state. Accordingly, the contact state changes
from offline to online, greatly increasing the risk of leaks. Therefore, the privacy
issues we will inevitably face with 5G will become a problem that must be faced and
solved in the next few years. Fortunately, advancements in data mining and
machine learning technologies mean that privacy protection methods have been
well trained and will only become more powerful in the future.

8
CHAPTER 2: Road To 6G

1. Specifications:
5G technologies are associated with trade-offs of several issues, such as
throughput, delay, energy efficiency, deployment costs, reliability, and hardware
complexity. Likely, 5G will not be able to meet the market demands after 2030
then 6G will fill the gap between 5G and market demand. Based on the previous
trends and predictions of future needs, the main objectives for the 6G systems are
extremely high data rates per device, a very large number of connected devices,
global connectivity, very low latency, lowering the energy consumption with
battery-free Internet of Things (IoT) devices, ultra-high reliable connectivity, and
connected intelligence with machine learning capability.

It is anticipated that 6G will require a new key performance indicator (KPI)

driver besides the KPIs of 5G communication systems. Many KPIs of the 5G system
will be also valid for 6G. However, the 5G KPIs must be reviewed and new KPIs
must be considered for 6G. There are several KPI classes that are currently difficult
to define for 6G and expected to be finalized by future investigations. 5GB
communication systems target in most of the technology domains once again to
increase in the respective capability by a factor of 10–100 compared to the

9
previous generation of communication systems. Some researchers from academia
and industry target the KPIs for 6G communication as follows: peak data rate of 1
Tbps, radio latency of 0.1 ms, the battery lifetime of 20 years, device connectivity
of 100/m3, traffic increase of 10,00 times, the energy efficiency of 10 times,
maximum outage of 1 out of 1 million, and 10 cm indoor and 1 m outdoor precision
in positioning. The initial 6G KPIs can be broadly classified into two categories
namely, (i) technology and productivity-driven KPIs and (ii) sustainability and
societal driven KPIs. The first category includes KPIs for several parameters such as
jitter, link budget, extended range/coverage, 3D-mapping, mobile broadband,
positioning accuracy, cost, and energy-saving. The second category includes KPIs
for several facts such as standardization, privacy/security/trust, open-source
everything, ethics, intelligence, and global use case.

2. Requirements:
The 6G communication systems are expected to be featured by the following
types of KPI associated services: Ubiquitous mobile ultra-broadband (uMUB), Ultra-
high-speed with low-latency communications (uHSLLC), massive machine-type
communication (mMTC), Ultra-high data density (uHDD) The following key factors
will characterize the 6G communication system, AI integrated communication,
Tactile Internet, High energy efficiency, Low backhaul and access network
congestion.

Enhanced data security has estimated that the 6G system will have 1000
times higher simultaneous wireless connectivity than the 5G system. Compared to
the enhanced mobile broadband in 5G, it is expected that 6G will include
ubiquitous services, Ultra-reliable low-latency communications, which is a key 5G
feature, will be an essential driver again in 6G communication providing uHSLLC by
adding features such as E2E delay of less than 1 ms, more than 99.99999%
reliability, and 1 Tbps peak data rate.

Massively connected devices (up to 10 million/km2) will be provided in the 6G

communication system. It is expected that 6G aims to provide Gbps coverage
everywhere with the coverage of new environments such as sky (10,000 km) and
sea (20 nautical miles). Volume spectral efficiency will be much better. Also, ultra-
long battery life and advanced battery technology for energy harvesting. In 6G
systems, mobile devices will not need to be separately charged.
10
CHAPTER 3. Fundamental Enabling Of 6G

Based on the past evolution of mobile networks, initially, 6G networks are

mostly based on the 5G architecture, inheriting the benefits achieved in 5G. Some
new technologies will be added, and some 5G technologies will be improved in 6G.
Hence, the 6G system will be driven by many technologies. A few expected vital
technologies for 6G are discussed below.

1.The Expanding Role of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

AI and ML techniques, especially deep learning, have rapidly advanced over
the last decade and are now central to several domains involving image
classification and computer vision, ranging from social networks to security. They
are applied in problem areas where significant amounts of data are readily
available for training. Reinforcement learning is beginning to be applied in a variety
of robotic control applications following various demonstrations of its prowess in
gaming environments, such as AlphaGo.

Recently there has been much exploration of the application of deep-learning

techniques to wireless systems. Over the next few years, we expect AL/ML to be
applied to 5G systems in at least three different ways. First, they have the potential
to replace some of the model-based Layer 1 and Layer 2 algorithms such as
channel estimation, preamble detection, equalization and user scheduling, either
because they perform better or are less complex. Second, they are likely to be
applied extensively in deployment optimization, for example for configuring an
optimal subset of beams with which to illuminate the coverage area, taking cell
traffic patterns into account.

Given the complexity of 5G systems in terms of the sheer number of

parameters to be configured at the time of deployment, AI/ML techniques will play
an important role in the vision of zero human touch network optimization. Finally,
we can expect some other use cases such as localization of end devices using 5G
technology to exploit learning techniques for improved accuracy. A comprehensive
review of the possible applications of AI/ML to 5G systems and beyond is provided.
Similarly, it provides a great summary of applications classified by the type of

11
learning technique, in addition to an overview of Quantum computing and
communications.

In addition to the use of AI/ML in the RAN, AI/ML will become essential for the 5G
end-to-end network automation dealing with the complexity of orchestration
across multiple network domains and layers. This will allow for dynamic adaptation
of network and cloud resources according to changing demands, rapid deployment
of new services and fast mitigation of failures, while significantly reducing
operational expenditures.

We envision 6G systems to employ AI/ML in a more fundamental way than

the above 5G approach. We expect to go from AI as an enhancement to AI as a
foundation for air interface design and optimization - self-optimizing transmitters
and receivers, cognitive spectrum use and context awareness.

1.1. Self-Optimizing Transmitters and Receivers:

Ongoing research has demonstrated that deep-learning systems can learn to

communicate over quasi-static links more efficiently than model-based system
designs. No explicit design of waveform, constellation, or reference signals is
required. Through extensive training, a single deep-learning network at the
transmitter and one at the receiver learn to pick the best design for these
parameters While such an end-to-end learning approach may be unfeasible for
complex, dynamically changing multi-user environments, the 6G communication
framework will be designed in such a way as to allow learning in the field to make
some design choices. This will enable optimization of the air-interface
characteristics based on the choice of spectrum, environment, hardware deployed
and target requirements. One important shift will be to include the capabilities of
the hardware in the optimization of the communication framework. In the current
approach, the air-interface is designed taking into account some practical limits on
implementation. But after the design phase, it is expected that all implementations
will have the hardware required for the chosen air-interface design. In the future,
we can expect the air-interface to adapt to the capabilities of the hardware. For
example, a certain implementation may have a limited number of analog-to-digital
conversion (ADC) or digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) resolutions, which can be
taken into account by the learning systems to determine the optimal signaling
choice.
12
1.2. Cognitive Spectrum Use:

Low-frequency spectrum will continue to be of paramount importance for

wide-area coverage due to the superior propagation properties in NLOS compared
to higher-frequency bands. Over the next decade, substantial amounts of new
spectrum will be allocated to 5G and its evolutions, and that is likely to lead to
near-exhaustion of spectrum in bands below 6 GHz.

Thus, in the timeframe of 6G, new spectrum-use methods will be required

even within the licensed spectrum regime to allow better local access to the
spectrum and coexistence with other users. Operators may need to share
spectrum among themselves and with other private dedicated networks. And even
within a single operator, multiple generations of technologies will coexist and
share spectrum. With advances in radio technology enabling multi-band operation
and learning techniques such as deep reinforcement learning, efficient
autonomous sharing of spectrum can alleviate major spectrum sharing hurdles.

With increasing use of advanced beamforming techniques and densification,

use of spectrum becomes highly local, facilitating more reuse spectrum and hence
allowing various forms of coexistence among cognitive sharing systems that will be
highly beneficial.

1.3 Context Awareness:

Another major development we can expect in the timeframe of 6G is seamless

integration of awareness of the environment, traffic patterns, mobility patterns and
location into the optimization of communication schemes aided by new AI/ML
techniques. For example, in environments such as factory floors, video cameras will
be able to capture the presence and movement of various machines and devices
that can be processed in real time through deep-learning networks to predict
changes to the propagation environment, which in turn can be used to optimize
communication. Essentially, new data acquisition and processing techniques
integrated into the communication system can reduce the randomness in the
communication links. Long-term mobility patterns can be derived in indoor and
outdoor settings that can then be used to optimize the service experience by
establishing connectivity to the right technology at the right time. Another
important element of future systems may be the use of digitally controlled passive
elements such as large-scale meta-surfaces. These are likely to be distributed

13
opportunistically, especially in indoor environments, and new methods are required
to exploit this for improving communications. Determining optimal control of these
elements using model-based optimization methods may be intractable. It will be
challenging to exactly model signal propagation incorporating their collective
effects, which in turn depend on how they are controlled. AI/ML techniques will
likely be used to solve such complex problems in the 6G era. Higher-level semantic
knowledge of how the communication is being used, for example whether it is for
robot control or augmented reality in a factory or for gaming, can be learned from
traffic patterns and device characteristics, and appropriate services can be provided
automatically. Accurate service personalization down to the lower layers of the
communication can be achieved through learning techniques. Moving from AI for 5G
to AI native 6G, we expect that various forms of learning will be employed to realize
the above applications. Transfer learning and federated learning will play critical
roles. Systems will have to be trained offline in simulation environments to a
sufficient extent first so that basic communications can be established, and then be
subsequently trained in the field to optimize performance. So, there will be transfer
of learning from the simulation to the field environment. Devices and network
infrastructure have to co-learn to incorporate end-to-end operations, and here,
federated learning will play a role. Rather than sharing large data sets between
various devices and the network, models will be shared.

At the higher layers, deep reinforcement learning will be necessary for

optimization of resource allocation and control of various parameters. Hierarchical
and multi-agent reinforcement learning will need to be used across different nodes.

2. The Network with the Sixth Sense

One of the critical requirements for industrial automation is high-accuracy
localization. While real-time kinematics global navigation satellite system (RTK
GNSS) can provide highly accurate localization under the conditions of good satellite
visibility, many of the automation use cases are indoors, where that is not possible.
The current approach to solving the localization problem is to rely on specialized
systems based on ultra-wideband (UWB) or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLW) and
requires additional access points and devices to be installed. A separate system for
localization in addition to the communication system incurs additional infrastructure
expense and ongoing maintenance costs that can be avoided if the communication
system is also able to perform accurate localization. As a result, 5G includes

14
capabilities to improve localization accuracy and can become the single system for
both URLLC and localization in industrial automation environments.

As we move toward 6G, we expect the network to perform various sensing

tasks in addition to high-precision localization. Localization solutions will be
enhanced to achieve centimeter-level accuracy indoors over a larger area where
line-of-sight visibility to a large number of access points is limited. New channel
charting methods based on AI/ML techniques applied to large antenna array
systems as well as data fusion across RF, camera and other sensors on robots will
improve accuracy of sensing even with a limited number of visible access points.

6G systems will be used for imaging of passive objects. System design will not
only be optimized for communication but will also incorporate special capabilities
for sensing. For example, waveforms suitable for sensing such as chirp signals can be
multiplexed with waveforms optimized for communications. Large antenna arrays
deployed for massive MIMO communications can be leveraged for forming narrow
beams that can be periodically swept for sensing. Multiple transmitters and
receivers can coordinate to enhance the sensing capabilities of the network. The
evolution to sub-terahertz and terahertz bands, with the associated large signaling
bandwidth, increases the opportunity for precision sensing. Millimeter-precision
imaging using terahertz-band infrastructure will enable a significant number of new
use cases in industry automation and health care, such as fault detection in
extrusion manufacturing processes or detection of cancerous tissue and tooth
cavities.

There are plenty of applications that will benefit from radio points being turned
into sensors, such as food quality control in supermarkets, or invisible metal
detectors in airport or event infrastructures to replace the current security gate
systems.

Combining the multi-modal sensing capabilities with the cognitive technologies

enabled by the 6G platform will allow for analyzing behavioral patterns and people’s
preferences and even emotions, hence creating a sixth sense that anticipates user
needs. It will allow for interactions with the physical world in a much more intuitive
way.

15
CHAPTER 4: Expected Product 6G

1.Design

1.1. Possible Scenario:

1.2. Architecture:

1.2.1. Sub-Networks:

The cellular network architecture in previous generations has been designed

primarily for extending the voice and data internet to individual, mobile end points.
5G is the first system designed to make inroads into the industrial environment,

16
meeting the challenging requirements through new architectural evolutions such as
supporting time-sensitive networking (TSN) bridge functionality.

To build on the road paved by 5G, and become truly entrenched in the
industrial environment and replace wired connectivity everywhere, 6G should
provide deterministic wire-grade reliability for a variety of connectivity scenarios ,
from static, isolated devices, to inter-related locally interacting devices, to rapidly
moving swarms of robots and drones that need to inter-connect but also connect
directly to the network when separated from the swarm. To ensure both high time
and spatial domain reliability and determinism, we see the need for semi-
autonomous 6G sub-networks, where at least the most critical services in the sub-
network will continue uninterrupted despite poor or no connectivity to the wider
network. Multiple path connectivity employing infrastructure and opportunistic
device-to-device connections will be required for the ultra-reliability, potentially
leading to truly cell-less architectures. Integration of these sub-networks to 6G as
one holistic architecture has some advantages:

The 6G sub-network will ensure high data rates, extreme low latency,
reliability and resilience

6G security and resilience features are enforced to the lowest level of

devices in the sub-network

6G service execution can dynamically be split between execution in the

edge cloud or in the device that is part of the sub-network.

Time-sensitive communications (TSC), through integration of the 5G network

and TSN, with the 5G network acting as a TSN bridge, will evolve to 6G to provide
native TSN, including over wider areas with mobility.

1.2.2. Hyper-Specialized Slicing:

Beyond the extension of the traditional connectivity architecture into a variety

of sub-network and multiply connected scenarios, we expect further advances in
slicing and virtualization. Slices can become highly specialized, potentially with
separate software stacks in each slice for different functional treatment of the flows.
The current trend in virtualization of the higher layers of the RAN will lead to further
disaggregation of RAN functions into modular micro-services that can be flexibly
composed into slice-specific RAN implementations. For example, one can envision
17
slice specializations for a video service slice incorporating specific video optimization
micro-services included in that RAN slice but not necessary in other slices. Similarly,
low-throughput IoT slices can incorporate functions allowing connectionless access
while other slices are based on a traditional access approach. In addition, we can
expect flexible slice-specific function placement in gateway devices, relays, cell sites,
far edges, edges and regional clouds across a variety of different hardware platforms
according to the needs of the slice. New innovations in service management and
orchestration are needed to create and manage such highly specialized slices.

1.2.3. RAN-Core Convergence:

In 5G, the base station has been compartmentalized into the distributed unit
(DU) and centralized unit (CU). The DU includes the lower layers of the user and
control plane protocol stack, namely the physical Layer 1 and real-time Layer 2,
while the CU includes the non-real-time Layer 2 and Layer 3 functions. The CU is
further split into the control plane and user plane, with a well-defined interface
between the two.

The CU is typically implemented as a virtualized function in the edge or metro

cloud and can serve multiple DUs. The 5G core functions, on the other hand, are
becoming more decentralized as the amount traffic through the core increases
substantially. The various core functions are also being virtualized and implemented
in regional or metro clouds, or even edge clouds for low-latency services. With
increasing centralization of the higher-layer RAN functions and the distribution of
the core functions, simplification can be achieved by combining some of the RAN
and core functions into single entities. Thus, in the timeframe of 6G, we expect a
reduced set of functional blocks implementing a combination of 5G RAN and core,
resulting in a coreless RAN, especially on the user plane.

18
CHAPTER 5:The impact of 6G On Cyber Security

The roles of trust, security and privacy are somewhat interconnected, but
different facets of next generation networks. The challenges in creating a
trustworthy 6G are multidisciplinary spanning technology, regulation, techno-
economics, politics and ethics. This white paper addresses their fundamental
research challenges in three key areas. Trust: Under the current "open internet"
regulation, the telco cloud can be used for trust services only equally for all users.
6G network must support embedded trust for increased level of information
security in 6G. Trust modeling, trust policies and trust mechanisms need to be
defined. 6G interlinks physical and digital worlds making safety dependent on
information security. Therefore, we need trustworthy 6G. Security: In 6G era, the
dependence of the economy and societies on IT and the networks will deepen. The
role of IT and the networks in national security keeps rising - a continuation of what
we see in 5G. The development towards cloud and edge native infrastructures is
expected to continue in 6G networks, and we need holistic 6G network security
architecture planning. Security automation opens new questions: machine learning
can be used to make safer systems, but also more dangerous attacks. Physical layer
security techniques can also represent efficient solutions for securing less
investigated network segments as first line of defense. Privacy: There is currently no
way to unambiguously determine when linked, deidentified datasets cross the
threshold to become personally identifiable. Courts in different parts of the world
are making decisions about whether privacy is being infringed, while companies are
seeking new ways to exploit private data to create new business revenues. As
solution alternatives, we may consider blockchain, distributed ledger technologies
and differential privacy approaches.

1. New Security, Privacy and Trust Paradigms

Wireline-grade reliability also implies that the network must be designed with
new security and privacy measures. Jamming in industrial networks is a new threat
that the networks will have to be protected against. Attackers could attempt to jam
networks from outside the industrial facility, and so physical security will be
insufficient. In the future, jamming may also take the form of simply delaying packet
delivery by creating interference only sporadically. This can seriously impact
19
industrial operations relying on time-sensitive networks. 6G networks will be
designed to protect against such new threats.

The definition of sub-networks in networks requires a change to the

authorization strategy. It is no longer authorization by the network, but by the sub-
network. When analyzing a body area network (BAN), the assets in the sub-network
belong to the sub-network, and therefore the authorization and asset management
must be handled in that trust boundary. The network will connect sub-networks,
and a second level of authorization might be needed at network level. Different sub-
networks might belong to mutual untrusted entities, which calls for clear separation
between sub-networks but also between the network and sub-networks. It will be
crucial for the sub-networks to act as an independent network, empowered as an
authorization authority and responsible for sub-network asset management. Due to
the dynamic behavior of devices joining/leaving the sub-network, maintaining sub-
network privacy and potential anonymity will be a challenge to be solved in the 6G
network architecture. When the physical and biological worlds are mirrored in the
digital world with high precision and when new mixed-reality worlds combining
digital representations of real and virtual objects are created, privacy solutions of
today are unlikely to be sufficient. Although multi-modal sensing will capture nearly
everything in their surroundings, users will want to restrict what others are allowed
to experience in the content that they share. Users must be able to set a rich set of
preferences in a simple fashion on what they wish to share, and data processing
should automatically ensure that. A variety of new signal processing techniques are
emerging to address security in the mixed-reality world of tomorrow that will
become an integral part of the 6G network. Physical layer security mechanisms
typically depend on the uniqueness of the wireless channel to establish
authentication, confidentiality and key exchange, and may become more mature in
the timeframe of 6G, addressing new issues such as jamming. Trust in the network is
critical for the success of 6G.

2.Network security architecture and cryptographic technologies:

2.1. Network Security Architecture in 6G:

Since inception of digital mobile communication in 2G, mobile networks are

reliant on a physical storage of symmetric keys in a Subscriber Identity Module
known also as SIM card. Encryption algorithms migrated from customary to
international standards, and additional cryptographic mechanisms were added for
20
mutual authentication. However, fundamentally the security model in 5G is still
reliant on SIM cards. While SIM cards became smaller (now at "nano" size), those
still need to be plugged to devices, which limits applicability e.g. to IoT. Introduction
of eSIMs partly addresses this challenge, though leaves issues with physical size.
iSIM under development could be a part of System-on-Chip in future devices
although it faces opposition from operators due to possible loss of control.
Traditional SIM cards rely on proven symmetric key encryption, which scaled well up
to billions of users. But it has drawback for example with IoT, privacy, network
authentication and false base stations. Is it going to be a fundamental shift from
symmetric crypto to asymmetric public/private keys? This was never deployed
before at such scale. In addition to SIM, 5G plans to support authentication through
a public-key infrastructure (PKI). The core of 5G is implemented as a set of
microservices communicating over HTTPS. The authentication, confidentiality and
integrity for such communication is provided by Transport Layer Security (TLS) using
elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). However, this has not yet been deployed yet and
can be left for 6G. Is it still going to be physical SIM cards in the devices? Or most IoT
devices will have clones of software SIMs or Trusted Platform Modules? A certificate
system for WWW works although with eventual certificate revocation and
Certificate Authority (CA) break-ins. DNSSEC is an example of gradually deploying
asymmetric key system. Host Identity Protocol implements this concept at the
network layer. Preventing Manin-the-Middle attacks is a critical requirement for
asymmetric encryption. Network slicing in 5G, as it has been defined by the 3GPP in
Rel15, has hardly any security impact, as it does not permit to separate traffic of
different services. Instead, deploying IPsec/VPN or HIP services in 6G would help to
isolate user traffic.

2.2. Post-Quantum Crypto-Security in the 6G Architecture :

The quantum computing paradigm is fundamentally different from classical

computing. There are computational problems we do not know how to solve
efficiently on a contemporary computer, but there are algorithms that solve those
problems efficiently on a quantum one. One of these problems is the discrete
logarithm problem which is the basis of modern asymmetric cryptography. If large-
scale quantum computing becomes a reality, these cryptographic primitives need to
be replaced for quantum-secure ones. According to a recent survey , quantum
computing may be commercially available in a few years. While large-scale quantum
computing can be expected to take longer, it is time to prepare for the shift to
cryptography that is secure in the post-quantum world. According to current
21
knowledge, contemporary symmetric cryptography remains secure for the most
part even after the advent of quantum computing. In general, it suffices to double
the size of the symmetric keys due to Grover's algorithm. The problems lie in
asymmetric primitives based on integer factorization and the discrete logarithm
problem that are solvable in polynomial time on a quantum computer using Shor's
algorithm.

The current 5G standard does not address the issue of quantum computing, but
relies on traditional cryptography such as ECC. However, the elliptic curve discrete
logarithm problem (ECDLP) can be solved in polynomial time on a quantum
computer. The development towards cloud and edge native infrastructures is
expected to continue in 6G networks. Compared to earlier generations, the security
architecture of 6G will be more complex, dominated by current transport layer
security standards and be increasingly dependent on the PKI. This development will
make the core network completely reliant on the functionality and security of the
underlying PKI. However, currently there are no post-quantum secure primitives, for
example, in TLS. There are public-key primitives considered to be quantum-safe.
These include for example, code-based encryption schemes such as McEliece and
lattice-based NTRU. Many of these suggestions have survived decades of attacks
and can thus be considered secure both in the classical and the quantum setting.
However, their efficiency is poor and key sizes big compared to, for example, ECDLP-
based schemes. Replacement of contemporary asymmetric cryptography with post-
quantum secure schemes will incur costs both in the communication and
operational efficiency of the network. Research is needed to identify the correct
application of post-quantum secure cryptography in order to satisfy the envisioned
performance and functionality of the 6G architecture. In addition, research into
new, more efficient post-quantum secure asymmetric schemes is needed in order to
reach this goal Standardization efforts for post-quantum cryptography are ongoing.

In the United States, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is

currently hosting a selection process NIST PQC for post-quantum cryptography
standardization. These new primitives are expected to provide post-quantum secure
key exchange, as well as to augment the Digital Signature Standard (DSS) FIPS 186-4.
We propose that the 6G standardization community pays close attention to these
efforts.

3. Privacy protection in 6G:

3.1. Privacy Requirements:

22
 As 5G networks evolve, it is expected that there will be increased reliance on AI
enabled smart applications requiring situational, context-aware and customized
privacy solutions. Traditional privacy preserving approaches may not be well suited
for the future wireless applications due to a diverse and complex set of novel
privacy challenges. One potential solution already highlighted in chapter 1 is the use
of DLT technologies. DLT technologies such as Blockchain may be an enabler for the
use of trustless computing between stakeholders as well as offering privacy
protection mechanisms in the network. Blockchain provides security and privacy
features such as immutability, transparency, verifiability, anonymity and
pseudonymous among other. Blockchain can offer privacy-preserving data sharing
mechanisms, optimize the authentication and access control, provide key
characteristics such as data integrity, traceability, monitoring, and ensure efficient
accountability mechanism among others. Privacy protection using differential
privacy (DP) approaches also seem promising when addressing key challenges that
are likely to arise in future intelligent 6G wireless applications. DP operates by
perturbing the actual data using artificial design random noise functions before
sending the final output to the assigned server . This prevents attackers undertaking
a statistical analysis of the received data and prevents inferring personal information
from user’s data. The concepts related to Federated Learning (FL) are also active
topics in the research community for ensuring privacy protection. FL is a distributed
machine learning technique that allows model training for large amounts of data
locally on its generated source and the required modeling is done at each individual
learner in the federation. Instead of sending a raw training dataset, each individual
learner transmits their local model to an “aggregator” to build a global model. FL
can provide solutions to vital challenges of data privacy, data ownership and data
locality as it follows the approach of “bringing the code to the data, instead of the
data to the code”.

3.2. Standardization and Regulatory Aspects:

Regulation and standardization work will affect our future technological

solutions in 5G networks and beyond. Protection of individual privacy and identity
have long been a challenge for standardization bodies since different nations have
widely different perspectives and regulation in this area. International standards
bodies such JTC 1 have committees working on privacy frameworks and are making
progress, but much more remains to be done. Using the European Commission’s
framework of “Privacy by Design” is one way to frame the challenge. The European
Commission implemented decision (20.1.2015) states “The security industry has
23
thus to face a growing challenge: improving the protection of privacy and personal
data, while meeting the requirements of their customers.

Whilst legally speaking the customers of the security industry often bear the
legal responsibility for complying with data protection rules their providers also bear
some responsibility for data protection from a societal and ethical point of view.
These involve those who design technical specifications and those who actually build
or implement applications or operating systems.” The interconnectedness of global
markets means that “Privacy by Design” will likely prevail in many future products
and communication techniques, and impact how we will live.. According to the
GDPR, if data is collected directly from the data subject, there is a duty to provide
the data immediately to the data subject. If, as expected, the GDPR continues to
provide a data protection framework for 6G, the digital twins of the data subjects
may well be assumed to be data subjects as well as their physical, real world
counterparts. If this question is left without an answer, the choice may well be
determined by the private sector. Big tech companies already have significant data
and control power and are well prepared to decried how the digital world will
operate through control of data and even through digital currencies. If this question
is left unanswered; human rights may be jeopardized and 6G may not achieve the
expected social benefits. A future which sees us working via our digital avatars or by
telepresence will also have health and safety issues. While the right of employees to
‘disconnect’ is beginning to be accepted as a legal norm through some European
countries such as France, Finland’s Working Hour Act came into force January 2020.
This Act allows workers the right to determine how and where to work for half of
their yearly working time. 6G communication is expected to have benefits for
workers on this flexible working system. However, new legal consequences may
arise around industrial relations matters in a digital, mirror workplace where
telepresence and avatars are essential parts of the production system where human
employees work in collaboration. Furthermore, the Future digital and physical
worlds will be deeply entangled, malicious cyber activities could lead to loss of
property and life. Attribution of responsibility in case of a physical harm caused by a
digital twin or an automated system against a human is a compelling legal issue. A
critical question will always remain: Who is liable? After answering this question, the
next is the type of liability which will be applied to the case. Liability occurs either
from a contractual relationship or tort or unjust enrichment. Tort on the other hand,
may depend on fault or strict liability. Multiple liability issues may appear related to
Work health and safety, data protection and cyber security.
24
 Conclusion
The tradition of deploying a new cellular generation approximately every
decade will continue into the future, with 6G becoming a reality in the 2030s. 6G will
be optimized and cost-reduced for the new use cases introduced in 5G, driving their
adoption at scale. At the same time, it will enable new use cases that we cannot yet
imagine or describe in detail. The expansion of mobile cellular to verticals that
began with the introduction of low-cost IoT technologies in 4G and ultra-reliable low
latency IIoT in 5G will continue, becoming both broader and deeper in 6G. The rapid
advance of AI/ML technology and its effectiveness in solving problems in several
domains points toward a 6G system that
will fundamentally exploit these new capabilities to improve performance by
better adapting to the operational environment. The inexorable demand for higher
capacity and peak rates points toward technologies that will exploit ever-higher
bands. As the density of infrastructure increases, coupled with the use of wider
bandwidth signals at high-band spectrum, especially indoors, new opportunities to
utilize this for localization and sensing will encourage a 6G design that is not only
optimized for communication but also for perception and understanding of the
physical world and people’s needs, thus augmenting human existence in the most
intuitive way. In this paper, we identified the following key technology
transformations as having the highest potential to be defining for the 6G system:
AI/ML-driven air interface design and optimization; (expansion into new spectrum
bands and new cognitive spectrum sharing methods; the integration of localization
and sensing capabilities into system definition; the achievement of extreme
performance requirements on latency and reliability; new network architecture
paradigms involving sub-networks and RAN-Core convergence; and new security
and privacy schemes. Finally, the expansion into many varied use cases calls for a
shift to a platform approach to the network, with decoupling of the air interface
from networking.

25