Authentication and Access Control for5G

AbstractThe fifth generation of mobile cellular networks, 5G, is designed to support a set of new use cases and requirements that affect every aspects of human life. Therefore, the security in 5G systems becomes more important than the security in any other pre‐5G networks. Authenticating users and controlling their access to network services is one of the first procedures to provide the security requirements of the system. Since 3G, the main authentication and access control procedures in cellular networks are based on Authentication and Key‐Agreement (AKA) protocols. In addition to study the weaknesses of the authentication and access control procedures in the pre‐5G networks, it is crucial to consider the 5G new use cases and requirements in designing authentication and access control mechanisms for 5G. In this article, we study the 5G network architecture considering the network functions involved in the authentication and access control processes. Then, we review the vulnerabilities of the 5G‐AKA protocol, which is the main authentication and access control mechanism in 5G. Finally, we study the new use cases in 5G and depict that they have different security requirements and consequently they need different authentication and access control mechanisms.