Modeling cooperative behavior for resilience in cyber-physical systems using SDN and NFV

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) are increasingly important in everyday applications including the latest mobile devices, power grids and intelligent buildings. CPS functionality has intrinsic characteristics including considerable heterogeneity, variable dynamics, and complexity of operation. These systems also typically have insufficient resources to satisfy their full demand for specialized services such as data edge storage, data fusion, and reasoning. These novel CPS characteristics require new management strategies to support the resilient global operation of CPSs. To reach this goal, we propose a Software Defined Networking based solution scaled out by Network Function Virtualization modules implemented as distributed management agents. Considering the obvious need for orchestrating the distributed agents towards the satisfaction of a common set of global CPS functional goals, we analyze distinct incentive strategies to enact a cooperative behavior among the agents. The repeated operation of each agent’s local algorithm allows that agent to learn how to adjust its behavior following both its own experience and observed behavior in neighboring agents. Therefore, global CPS management can evolve iteratively to ensure a state of predictable and resilient operation

Threat Landscape and Good Practice Guide for Software Defined Networks/5G

5G represents the next major phase of mobile telecommunication systems and network architectures beyond the current 4G standards, aiming at extreme broadband and ultra-robust, low latency connectivity, to enable the programmable connectivity for the Internet of Everything2. Despite the significant debate on the technical specifications and the technological maturity of 5G, which are under discussion in various fora3, 5G is expected to affect positively and significantly several industry sectors ranging from ICT to industry sectors such as car and other manufacturing, health and agriculture in the period up to and beyond 2020. 5G will be driven by the influence of software on network functions, known as Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV). The key concept that underpins SDN is the logical centralization of network control functions by decoupling the control and packet forwarding functionality of the network. NFV complements this vision through the virtualization of these functionalities based on recent advances in general server and enterprise IT virtualization. Considering the technological maturity of the technologies that 5G can leverage on, SDN is the one that is moving faster from development to production. To realize the business potential of SDN/5G, a number of technical issues related to the design and operation of Software Defined Networks need to be addressed. Amongst them, SDN/5G security is one of the key issues, that needs to be addressed comprehensively in order to avoid missing the business opportunities arising from SDN/5G. In this report, we review threats and potential compromises related to the security of SDN/5G networks. More specifically, this report contains a review of the emerging threat landscape of 5G networks with particular focus on Software Defined Networking. It also considers security of NFV and radio network access. To provide a comprehensive account of the emerging threat SDN/5G landscape, this report has identified related network assets and the security threats, challenges and risks arising for these assets. Driven by the identified threats and risks, this report has also reviewed and identified existing security mechanisms and good practices for SDN/5G/NFV, and based on these it has analysed gaps and provided technical, policy and organizational recommendations for proactively enhancing the security of SDN/5G

Failure Analysis in Next-Generation Critical Cellular Communication Infrastructures

The advent of communication technologies marks a transformative phase in critical infrastructure construction, where the meticulous analysis of failures becomes paramount in achieving the fundamental objectives of continuity, security, and availability. This survey enriches the discourse on failures, failure analysis, and countermeasures in the context of the next-generation critical communication infrastructures. Through an exhaustive examination of existing literature, we discern and categorize prominent research orientations with focuses on, namely resource depletion, security vulnerabilities, and system availability concerns. We also analyze constructive countermeasures tailored to address identified failure scenarios and their prevention. Furthermore, the survey emphasizes the imperative for standardization in addressing failures related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the ambit of the sixth-generation (6G) networks, accounting for the forward-looking perspective for the envisioned intelligence of 6G network architecture. By identifying new challenges and delineating future research directions, this survey can help guide stakeholders toward unexplored territories, fostering innovation and resilience in critical communication infrastructure development and failure prevention

Machine Learning Threatens 5G Security

Machine learning (ML) is expected to solve many challenges in the fifth generation (5G) of mobile networks. However, ML will also open the network to several serious cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Most of the learning in ML happens through data gathered from the environment. Un-scrutinized data will have serious consequences on machines absorbing the data to produce actionable intelligence for the network. Scrutinizing the data, on the other hand, opens privacy challenges. Unfortunately, most of the ML systems are borrowed from other disciplines that provide excellent results in small closed environments. The resulting deployment of such ML systems in 5G can inadvertently open the network to serious security challenges such as unfair use of resources, denial of service, as well as leakage of private and confidential information. Therefore, in this article we dig into the weaknesses of the most prominent ML systems that are currently vigorously researched for deployment in 5G. We further classify and survey solutions for avoiding such pitfalls of ML in 5G systems

Will SDN be part of 5G?

For many, this is no longer a valid question and the case is considered settled with SDN/NFV (Software Defined Networking/Network Function Virtualization) providing the inevitable innovation enablers solving many outstanding management issues regarding 5G. However, given the monumental task of softwarization of radio access network (RAN) while 5G is just around the corner and some companies have started unveiling their 5G equipment already, the concern is very realistic that we may only see some point solutions involving SDN technology instead of a fully SDN-enabled RAN. This survey paper identifies all important obstacles in the way and looks at the state of the art of the relevant solutions. This survey is different from the previous surveys on SDN-based RAN as it focuses on the salient problems and discusses solutions proposed within and outside SDN literature. Our main focus is on fronthaul, backward compatibility, supposedly disruptive nature of SDN deployment, business cases and monetization of SDN related upgrades, latency of general purpose processors (GPP), and additional security vulnerabilities, softwarization brings along to the RAN. We have also provided a summary of the architectural developments in SDN-based RAN landscape as not all work can be covered under the focused issues. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on the state of the art of SDN-based RAN and clearly points out the gaps in the technology.Comment: 33 pages, 10 figure

Self-Organization and Resilience for Networked Systems:Design Principles and Open Research Issues

Networked systems form the backbone of modern society, underpinning critical infrastructures such as electricity, water, transport and commerce, and other essential services (e.g., information, entertainment, and social networks). It is almost inconceivable to contemplate a future without even more dependence on them. Indeed, any unavailability of such critical systems is--even for short periods--a rather bleak prospect. However, due to their increasing size and complexity, they also require some means of autonomic formation and self-organization. This paper identifies the design principles and open research issues in the twin fields of self-organization and resilience for networked systems. In combination, they offer the prospect of combating threats and allowing essential services that run on networked systems to continue operating satisfactorily. This will be achieved, on the one hand, through the (self-)adaptation of networked systems and, on the other hand, through structural and operational resilience techniques to ensure that they can detect, defend against, and ultimately withstand challenges

Machine Learning Meets Communication Networks: Current Trends and Future Challenges

The growing network density and unprecedented increase in network traffic, caused by the massively expanding number of connected devices and online services, require intelligent network operations. Machine Learning (ML) has been applied in this regard in different types of networks and networking technologies to meet the requirements of future communicating devices and services. In this article, we provide a detailed account of current research on the application of ML in communication networks and shed light on future research challenges. Research on the application of ML in communication networks is described in: i) the three layers, i.e., physical, access, and network layers; and ii) novel computing and networking concepts such as Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC), Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), and a brief overview of ML-based network security. Important future research challenges are identified and presented to help stir further research in key areas in this direction