Research Projects

The Internet of Things (IoT) is rapidly becoming pervasive across a wide range of applications, from smart healthcare and autonomous vehicles to industrial automation. This expansion is fueled by continuous advancements in internet technologies, with Lian et al. [1] predicting that the number of IoT devices will surpass 25 billion by 2025. In parallel, the IoT market is projected to grow from $250.72 billion in 2019 to a staggering $1,463.19 billion by 2027, reflecting a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.9% [2]. The evolution of telecommunications infrastructure plays a critical role in supporting the increasing demands of IoT and other data-heavy applications. Emerging technologies like 5G, and eventually 6G, are specifically designed to meet the growing need for higher data speeds, lower latency, greater network capacity, and increased user density across sectors such as Smart Cities, healthcare, and industrial automation. A key innovation within 5G is the concept of network slicing, where “virtual networks are constructed on a shared physical infrastructure to cater to the unique requirements of different applications.” This enhances resource utilization and flexibility and ensures stringent Quality of Service (QoS) across various use cases for next-generation networks [3]. However, integrating a massive number of IoT and mobile devices into these slices presents substantial security risks. The open communication between devices and network slices increases the likelihood of sensitive data exposure, demanding robust security protocols [4]. As 5G and beyond communication networks evolve, securing network slicing has become a critical research focus. Although there has been some progress on network slice (shown in Figure 2) and cross-network slice authentication (i.e., switching between slices managed by the same operator (shown in Figure 3)), the area of cross-operator network slice authentication (i.e., switching between slices operated by different providers) remains relatively unexplored [5]. Additionally, current authentication frameworks face several shortcomings, including vulnerabilities to severe attacks, high costs, centralized points of failure, and limited support for cross-operator scenarios [6]. Traditional asymmetric cryptographic methods, such as RSA and ECC, are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the capabilities of quantum computing. This has led to the growing necessity for post-quantum cryptographic solutions to strengthen security in these networks. To address these challenges, this project aims to develop a post-quantum secure authentication protocol tailored for 5G network slicing. The protocol will prioritize robust security measures, including cross-slice and cross-operator authentication, while ensuring it remains scalable and efficient.