ZT-RIC:A Zero Trust RIC Framework for ensuring data Privacy and Confidentiality in Open RAN

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Lin, Diana, Bhargav, Samarth, Chiejina, Azuka, Ibrahem, Mohamed I., Shah, Vijay K.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Lin, Diana
Bhargav, Samarth
Chiejina, Azuka
Ibrahem, Mohamed I.
Shah, Vijay K.
author_facet Lin, Diana
Bhargav, Samarth
Chiejina, Azuka
Ibrahem, Mohamed I.
Shah, Vijay K.
contents The advancement of 5G and NextG networks through Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture enables a shift toward virtualized, modular, and disaggregated configurations. A core component of O-RAN is the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), which manages RAN using machine learning-driven xApps that access sensitive data from RAN and User Equipment (UE), stored in the near Real-Time RIC (Near-RT RIC) database. This shared, open environment increases the risk of unauthorized data exposure. To address these concerns, this paper proposes a zero-trust RIC (ZT-RIC) framework that preserves data privacy across the RIC platform, including the RIC database, xApps, and E2 interface. ZT-RIC employs Inner Product Functional Encryption (IPFE) to encrypt RAN/UE data at the base station, preventing leaks through the E2 interface and shared database. Additionally, ZT-RIC enables xApps to perform inference on encrypted data without exposing sensitive information. For evaluation, a state-of-the-art InterClass xApp, which detects jamming signals using RAN key performance metrics (KPMs), is implemented. Testing on an LTE/5G O-RAN testbed shows that ZT-RIC preserves data confidentiality while achieving 97.9% accuracy in jamming detection and meeting sub-second latency requirements, with a round-trip time (RTT) of 0.527 seconds.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_07128
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle ZT-RIC:A Zero Trust RIC Framework for ensuring data Privacy and Confidentiality in Open RAN
Lin, Diana
Bhargav, Samarth
Chiejina, Azuka
Ibrahem, Mohamed I.
Shah, Vijay K.
Cryptography and Security
The advancement of 5G and NextG networks through Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture enables a shift toward virtualized, modular, and disaggregated configurations. A core component of O-RAN is the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), which manages RAN using machine learning-driven xApps that access sensitive data from RAN and User Equipment (UE), stored in the near Real-Time RIC (Near-RT RIC) database. This shared, open environment increases the risk of unauthorized data exposure. To address these concerns, this paper proposes a zero-trust RIC (ZT-RIC) framework that preserves data privacy across the RIC platform, including the RIC database, xApps, and E2 interface. ZT-RIC employs Inner Product Functional Encryption (IPFE) to encrypt RAN/UE data at the base station, preventing leaks through the E2 interface and shared database. Additionally, ZT-RIC enables xApps to perform inference on encrypted data without exposing sensitive information. For evaluation, a state-of-the-art InterClass xApp, which detects jamming signals using RAN key performance metrics (KPMs), is implemented. Testing on an LTE/5G O-RAN testbed shows that ZT-RIC preserves data confidentiality while achieving 97.9% accuracy in jamming detection and meeting sub-second latency requirements, with a round-trip time (RTT) of 0.527 seconds.
title ZT-RIC:A Zero Trust RIC Framework for ensuring data Privacy and Confidentiality in Open RAN
topic Cryptography and Security
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.07128