Rigorous Assessment of 5G O-RAN Security Protocol Stack

The evolution of the Fifth Generation (5G) networks and the rise of Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture introduced a new era of wireless connectivity, offering exceptional speeds, low latency, and increased capacity. However, the open and disaggregated nature of O-RAN itself leads to serious security challenges. This paper gives an in-depth analysis of the current security posture of the 5G O-RAN, assessing the security protocol stack in use to harden the 5G O-RAN framework. We show the strengths and weaknesses inherited in each protocol of the current stack and propose enhancements to fortify the security of the 5G O-RAN deployments.