SKAP-NS: A Symmetric Key-Based Authentication Protocol for 5G Network Slicing

Network slicing is a pivotal technology in upcoming telecommunications. It enables the segmentation of the physical network into multiple tailored logical networks. These networks serve diverse purposes, facilitating users swift access to a range of services. The 5G mobile network leverages network slicing to accommodate various consumer applications. Nevertheless, security concerns, particularly regarding authentication, pose a significant challenge in network slicing. Various asymmetric encryption-based authentication protocols are designed to protect network-slicing communication. The state-of-the-art shows that these solutions are either expensive or vulnerable. They face severe attacks, including privacy issues, traceability, and ephemeral secret leakage. They also do not offer the perfect forward secrecy. Most of the existing protocols are based on asymmetric encryption. Therefore, considering the above-mentioned, a symmetric encryption-based authentication protocol is designed to tackle the problem of cost and security. The security of the designed protocol is verified using both informal and formal methods. These include real-or-random logic and the Scyther validation tool. This ensures that the proposed protocol offers robust security. Moreover, a comparative analysis is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed protocol. This analysis evaluates computational, communication, storage, and energy consumption costs, comparing the protocol to its competitors.