Another paper from our work on 5G cyber-security, as part of the Raksha project, has been accepted to the 18th Workshop on Cyber Security Experimentation and Test (CSET) in conjunction with the 41st Annual Computer Security Applications Conference (ACSAC), to be held December 8-12, 2025 in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.! The paper is going to be presented by Azza Hassan Mohamed Ahmed.
Reference: Ahmed, Azza Hassan Mohamed; Dreibholz, Thomas; Michelinakis, Foivos Ioannis and Čičić, Tarik: «Open 5G Testbed: A Cyber Range Platform for Security Research» (🇬🇧), in Proceedings of the 18th Workshop on Cyber Security Experimentation and Test (CSET) in conjunction with the 41st Annual Computer Security Applications Conference (ACSAC), Honolulu, Hawaii/U.S.A., December 8, 2025.
Abstract: The fifth generation (5G) of wireless communication offers gigabit-per-second speeds, ultra-low latency, and massive device connectivity. However, the introduction of network function virtualization (NFV), software-defined networking (SDN), network slicing, and mobile edge computing (MEC) has also created a complex security frontier. Addressing these challenges requires continuous and realistic validation of defenses in controlled experimentation environments. In this paper, we present an open-source, low-cost, fully software-based 5G testbed designed as a cyber range platform for security research and education. Built upon the OpenAirInterface (OAI) framework and commercial off-the-shelf hardware, the testbed supports an end-to-end 5G Stand-Alone (SA) deployment with gNodeB, core network, and user equipment (UE). It enables reproducible experimentation that may demonstrate a broad range of security scenarios, including privacy and tracking-based vulnerabilities (e.g., capturing user identifiers) as well as availability attacks such as DoS attacks targeting core network functions.
The paper outlines our reproducible implementation and shares our experiences in building and operating the platform as a cyber range.
