The security challenges of cloud-native 5G

Features
By Rory Bathgate
published

New architecture is not free from legacy threats

The words ‘The security challenges of cloud-native 5G’ with ‘cloud-native’ highlighted in yellow and the others in white, against a sepia image of a 5G mast shot from below against dark storm clouds.
(Image credit: Future)

Communications service providers can harness a range of benefits by building out 5G networks using cloud-native elements such as microservices and containers. These include reducing capital expenditure, making networks more scalable and flexible, and improving network stability.

Moving mobile network services to the cloud, however, is not without its complications. Those with large legacy security plans, or with complex network layouts, could face the prospect of being exposed to vulnerabilities as part of their cloud migration.

In this episode, Jane and Rory speak to Bart Salaets, EMEA Field CTO at multi-cloud security company F5, to find out how telcos and other businesses can securely adopt new network architectures.

Highlights

“Skill-wise it is a big step because this requires a completely new set of skills that telcos have to invest in, these are skills that they typically didn’t have. Running a cloud network is very different from running a traditional network.”

“What we see is that we can leverage a lot of traffic management and security capabilities from the IT world in this new telco 5G service-based architecture. But there are some tweaks that have to be done to make it fully capable to deal with all the protocols and functions that you need in those environments.”

“If you build a network with standalone discrete devices, where every device does a specific function and is managed by a particular team, in some ways it's easier to protect than if you built a much more open cloud infrastructure where many people are coming together, putting their stuff on it.”

Read the full transcript here.

Footnotes

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Rory Bathgate
Rory Bathgate
Features and Multimedia Editor

Rory Bathgate is Features and Multimedia Editor at ITPro, overseeing all in-depth content and case studies. He can also be found co-hosting the ITPro Podcast with Jane McCallion, swapping a keyboard for a microphone to discuss the latest learnings with thought leaders from across the tech sector.

In his free time, Rory enjoys photography, video editing, and good science fiction. After graduating from the University of Kent with a BA in English and American Literature, Rory undertook an MA in Eighteenth-Century Studies at King’s College London. He joined ITPro in 2022 as a graduate, following four years in student journalism. You can contact Rory at rory.bathgate@futurenet.com or on LinkedIn.