The 5G mobile network will revolutionise our everyday services and keep modern society running. For that reason it is vital to be able to guarantee the security of the operating environment.
5G technology plays a key role in the development of the European economy and industry. The global 5G market is estimated to generate EUR 225 billion worldwide in 2025. New business models based on 5G technology rest on high and fast availability of data. The technology is needed, for example, in transport and industry, in the health and well-being sector, in smart and energy-efficient housing and in sharing game and media content.
"Dependence on new 5G technologies and related services means that security cannot be compromised. It must be ensured that consumers can rely, for example, on the operation of their banking services or electricity trading. Consumer confidence is based on experiences of companies' ability to protect information and provide added value. Companies must be responsible for ensuring that service reliability can be guaranteed at every stage", says Reijo Savola, Principal Scientist, Cyber Security, from VTT.
VTT has developed ways to ensure cyber security with Finnish and German business partners in the flagship project of the Celtic-Next cluster. VTT participated in the project especially by developing cyber security measurement and visualisation tools and automation that support the creation of secure 5G and related services. For example, the MVS tool can be used to visualise the state of cyber security in real time.
"We need measurement data on how well cyber security solutions work when exposed to real risks. It must also be possible to structure and visualise the measured data for decision-making. These lay the foundation for building and improving trust in a complex and changing system."
In addition to VTT, Finnish participants in the SENDATE project consortium included Airbus Defence and Space Oy, Comiq Oy, Elisa Corporation, F-Secure Corporation, Insta DefSec Oy, Second Nature Security Oy, Softera Oy and SSH Communications Security Corporation. The solutions developed by the companies to improve 5G security related to, among other things, network management and software configurations, IoT authentication and digital crime investigation in a virtual environment.
According to the companies, the consortium work supported the development of 5G security well by bringing together European specialists and expertise in the field. This contributed to the development of the companies' own solutions and also led to cooperation between the participants.
