Leveraging Threat Modelling for Effective Penetration Testing in 5G Systems

While 5G has significantly enhanced mobile network speed, reliability, and multi-device connectivity, it has also introduced potential security threats. 5G can be deployed in two main configurations: standalone (using only 5G radios and core) and non-standalone (integrating 4G LTE components). The standalone configuration fully utilizes 5G's capabilities, offering higher speeds and complete functionality as defined by the protocol. In contrast, the non-standalone setup enables faster and more cost-effective deployment by combining 5G connectivity with existing 4G infrastructure. Our contributions to this field have been made in the context of a Standalone 5G network: the application of a methodology for guiding penetration tests based on threat models as well as a testbed designed for conducting penetration tests in a 5G environment; therefore we conducted some attacks using the designed environment.