Secure Secondary Authentication Framework for Efficient Mutual Authentication on a 5G Data Network

The service-based architecture of the Fifth Generation(5G) had combined the services and security architectures and enhanced the authentication process of services to expand the coverage of the network, including heterogeneous devices. This architecture uses the secondary authentication for mutual authentication between the User Equipment (UE) and the Data Network (DN) to authenticate devices and services. However, this authentication mechanism can cause a signaling storm in the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) because the end node needs to communicate with the authentication server of the NAS area. This problem could affect the availability of the network when the network is extended. This research proposes a mutual authentication framework that can efficiently perform a mutual authentication process through secondary authentication between UE and DN. The proposed framework uses newly devised network functions: Secondary Authentication Function (SAF) and the Authentication Data Management Function (ADMF). This framework proposes a methodology at the protocol level for efficient mutual authentication using the mobile edge computing architecture. We analyzed the proposed framework in the point of security considerations, and we evaluated the effect of the framework on the traffic of the NAS layer and user experience. Our simulation results show that the proposed framework can reduce the NAS traffic by 39% and total traffic of the overall network by 10%

Blockchain-Based Distributed Information Hiding Framework for Data Privacy Preserving in Medical Supply Chain Systems

Medical supply chain communication networks engender critical information and data. Notably in the COVID era, inner personal and private information is being shared between healthcare providers regarding the medical supply chain. In recent years, multiple cyber-attacks have targeted medical supply chain communication networks due to their lack of security measures. In the era where cyber-attacks are cheaper and easier due to the computational power and various algorithms available for malicious uses, security, and data privacy requires intensive and higher measures. On the other hand, Information Hiding Techniques (IHT) compromise various advanced methods to hide sensitive information from being disclosed to malicious nodes. Moreover, with the support of Blockchain, IHT can bring higher security and the required privacy levels. In this paper, we propose the implementation of Blockchain and smart contract with the information hiding technique to enhance the security and privacy of data communication in critical systems, such as smart healthcare supply chain communication networks. Results show the feasibility of the framework using Hyperledger smart contract along with the desired security level