Okwuibe, Liyanage, Ahmad, and Ylianttila
374
Other similar approaches are Cloudlets, Fog, Edge computing
1
, as well as their hybrids.
MEC combines elements of Information Technology (IT) and telecommunication
networking, hence extending cloud computing capabilities and IT services to the edge
of cellular networks. This minimizes network congestion and also improves the overall
performance of the network.
Bootstrapping MEC and cloud computing with their various deployment models to
5G networks come with many benefits to both the cloud service providers (CSPs) and to
businesses. Such benefits include providing internet‐based services to both small and
large organizations at a highly reduced cost, hence creating a level playing field for different levels of investments. Other benefits include cutting down operational costs
through reduced backhaul capacity requirement, eliminating resource redundancy
through the provision of pay‐as‐you‐use services, providing access to applications based
on need; that is, businesses can now easily increase or decrease their capacities without
incurring any unwarranted costs, flexible and rapid application deployment, secure
radio access provisioning to application developers and content providers, as well as
faster response time for cloud applications through reduced end‐to‐end (E2E) network
latency and thus better Quality of Experience (QoE) for fast moving user equipment.
However, these remarkable benefits are not offered without cost. Transitioning to
MEC and cloud computing poses a number of security risks to the industry, most of
which are covered in this chapter. On the side of cloud computing, the idea of relieving
clients of direct control, and transferring both infrastructure and resource management
to the CSP could lead to trust issues on the network. Moreover, the centralization of
resources requires CSPs to frequently update their cloud security and privacy protection
mechanisms, so as to keep pace with the rapid evolution of cloud computing technology
[1]. On the side of MEC, the security and privacy concerns are even more threatening,
given that MEC is still in its infancy. Security concerns are mainly in the context of the
cloud‐enabled IoT (Internet of Things) environment. Security technologies are geared
towards the MEC nodes, for example, MEC servers and other IoT nodes. Threats such as
man‐in‐the‐middle (MitM) and malicious mode problems have been identified [2]. Here,
we describe in detail, and in the context of 5G networks, the security vulnerabilities of
both cloud computing and MEC. We define different use cases of each technology and
outline different associated privacy and security threats, and then we propose adequate
solutions to address these security concerns.
16.2 Cloud Computing in 5G Networks
The fifth generation of mobile network standards (5G) will support a massive number
of connected devices and provide wireless connectivity for a wide range of new
applications and use cases. Unlike the previous generations of mobile networks, the
1 There is a common misappropriation between edge computing and mobile edge computing. In contrast,
edge computing comprises all technologies that leverage on distributed IT architecture to provide a means of
collecting and processing data at local computing devices rather than in the cloud or remote data center, while
mobile edge computing is one instance of edge computing at cellular base stations where cloud computing
capabilities are moved to the edge of the cellular network. Other instances of edge computing are peer-to-peer
ad hoc networking, fog/cloud/cloudlets, autonomic self-healing networks and dew computing.
374
Other similar approaches are Cloudlets, Fog, Edge computing
1
, as well as their hybrids.
MEC combines elements of Information Technology (IT) and telecommunication
networking, hence extending cloud computing capabilities and IT services to the edge
of cellular networks. This minimizes network congestion and also improves the overall
performance of the network.
Bootstrapping MEC and cloud computing with their various deployment models to
5G networks come with many benefits to both the cloud service providers (CSPs) and to
businesses. Such benefits include providing internet‐based services to both small and
large organizations at a highly reduced cost, hence creating a level playing field for different levels of investments. Other benefits include cutting down operational costs
through reduced backhaul capacity requirement, eliminating resource redundancy
through the provision of pay‐as‐you‐use services, providing access to applications based
on need; that is, businesses can now easily increase or decrease their capacities without
incurring any unwarranted costs, flexible and rapid application deployment, secure
radio access provisioning to application developers and content providers, as well as
faster response time for cloud applications through reduced end‐to‐end (E2E) network
latency and thus better Quality of Experience (QoE) for fast moving user equipment.
However, these remarkable benefits are not offered without cost. Transitioning to
MEC and cloud computing poses a number of security risks to the industry, most of
which are covered in this chapter. On the side of cloud computing, the idea of relieving
clients of direct control, and transferring both infrastructure and resource management
to the CSP could lead to trust issues on the network. Moreover, the centralization of
resources requires CSPs to frequently update their cloud security and privacy protection
mechanisms, so as to keep pace with the rapid evolution of cloud computing technology
[1]. On the side of MEC, the security and privacy concerns are even more threatening,
given that MEC is still in its infancy. Security concerns are mainly in the context of the
cloud‐enabled IoT (Internet of Things) environment. Security technologies are geared
towards the MEC nodes, for example, MEC servers and other IoT nodes. Threats such as
man‐in‐the‐middle (MitM) and malicious mode problems have been identified [2]. Here,
we describe in detail, and in the context of 5G networks, the security vulnerabilities of
both cloud computing and MEC. We define different use cases of each technology and
outline different associated privacy and security threats, and then we propose adequate
solutions to address these security concerns.
16.2 Cloud Computing in 5G Networks
The fifth generation of mobile network standards (5G) will support a massive number
of connected devices and provide wireless connectivity for a wide range of new
applications and use cases. Unlike the previous generations of mobile networks, the
1 There is a common misappropriation between edge computing and mobile edge computing. In contrast,
edge computing comprises all technologies that leverage on distributed IT architecture to provide a means of
collecting and processing data at local computing devices rather than in the cloud or remote data center, while
mobile edge computing is one instance of edge computing at cellular base stations where cloud computing
capabilities are moved to the edge of the cellular network. Other instances of edge computing are peer-to-peer
ad hoc networking, fog/cloud/cloudlets, autonomic self-healing networks and dew computing.