While security has always been a hot topic in mobile networks, the security focus is intensifying with 5G. Why will CSPs require authentication security HSM? By integrating an Hardware Security Module (HSM) to the 5G core, Ericsson is providing CSPs with a stronger cryptographic key and algorithms protection in a tamper-resistant hardware. The current standardized solutions will be under stress in the 5G wider ecosystem, resulting in increased networks vulnerability risks. The adoption of technologies, such as cloud and network slicing, and the wider variety of devices and access-networks, adds complexity to the infrastructure and increases the types of authentication use cases that need to be more securely handled. With 5G networks growing in number around the globe and becoming a core part of many countries’ critical infrastructure, user authentication and security are bringing ‘stickiness’ to stricter laws and regulations that are aimed at controlling network access and protecting user data.
As a result, we need to look at how to make the users’ authentication information more secure. New use cases, different access types (for example, 3GPP, non-3GPP, Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G and 5G), and the evolving infrastructure of communication service providers (CSPs), are increasing security demands across the network domain. The importance of user privacy and security are continuously growing with 5G. Ericsson Authentication Security Module: in a nutshell