Currently, the 5th generation mobile networks, known as 5G, have been standardized by the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) and are already being used commercially. The system is characterized by its flexibility and heterogeneity in mobile cellular communication and networking. Simultaneously, the issue of 5G security has emerged swiftly with the utilization of cloud and non-3GPP networks in the 5G communications network. Extensive research has been carried out on system vulnerabilities and attacks, but there is a relatively new and understudied area known as handover vulnerabilities and their security solutions. Handover refers to the process of transferring connections from one network to another or from a base station to another within the same network. It is important to ensure that any proposed solution for handover vulnerabilities in 5G networks maintains the key characteristics of low latency and network availability. Several security solutions have been suggested, but they involve a trade-off between the additional communication overhead they introduce to the system and the system's requirement for low latency. Our study proposes a new and comprehensive model leveraging the unique physical layer characteristics of the users to enhance the security of the Xn-based handover in 5G networks. We have validated our solution using Scyther tools, which demonstrate that our approach ensures secure communication during the handover process without introducing any additional overhead to the existing system. Furthermore, our solution does not introduce any complexity that could negatively impact the low latency of the system.

In cellular network technologies like 5G and 6G, achieving high data rates, exceptional reliability, and minimal latency is paramount. The continuous expansion of smart wireless technologies, sensors, and communication systems has led to an exponential increase in data traffic, which increases the demand for enhanced privacy and security solutions that are efficient and reliable as attackers get more aggressive. While numerous authentication and encryption methods have been proposed in the literature to safeguard communication, the landscape of threats and attacks continues to evolve, jeopardizing the security of network entities. In response to this evolving threat landscape, my research introduces an innovative solution to enhance security measures. My approach hinges on dynamic and unpredictable key generation and utilization, setting a new strategy for safeguarding against network breaches. Notably, this work marks the first instance of introducing this mechanism and concept (Key Hopping), promising a more resilient security paradigm. Simulation results demonstrate a high-security performance in most security aspects.

Network slicing (NS) plays a crucial role in 5G networks; it enables the delivery of heterogeneous services and uses cases such as voice communication, video streaming, and Extended Reality (XR), and it also partitions the physical network into several logical networks, known as network slices, to cater the vertical industries via sharing the physical infrastructure. However, infrastructure and functional sharing present security and privacy challenges. In this work, we examine the characteristics of XR traffic across several 5G slicing configurations in the presence of attacks, including ping flood, User Datagram Protocol (UDP) flood, and registration flood attacks. The primary contribution of our research is the analysis of the impact of these different attacks on the XR traffic using different slice configurations. The results indicate the effects of the different attacks on XR traffic in terms of reducing the traffic throughput (Mbps) and the changes in the XR traffic characteristics in the different slice configurations. Also, the isolation of the Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) in the user plane provides better performance in the presence of these attacks.