Boosting Security for 5G and Future Mobile Networks: A Test of Combined Encryption

Abstract- Classical cryptography is challenged in 5G/6G mobile networks due to resource-limited devices and thelooming quantum computer attack. This paper presents and assesses an improved security framework using hybridcryptosystems to overcome these constraints. We developed, implemented, and comparatively studied four different schemes integrating symmetric (AES, ChaCha20, PRESENT), asymmetric (RSA, ECC), post-quantum (CRYSTALS-Kyber, SPHINCS+), and lightweight algorithms: AES-256+RSA-2048, ChaCha20+ECC(Curve25519), AES-128+CRYSTALS-Kyber, and PRESENT+SPHINCS+. Performance testing in a simulated 5G environment targeted key parameters like encryption/decryption latency, throughput, latency, and resource consumption (CPU, memory). Ourfindings indicate significant security strength vs. performance efficiency vs. resource requirements trade-offs.ChaCha20+ECC exhibits faster speed appropriate for mobile use cases; AES-128+Kyber provides balanced post-quantumprotection; AES-256+RSA provides strong traditional security; while PRESENT+SPHINCS+ is suitable for highlyresource-constrained IoT deployments needing quantum-resistant authentication, in spite of penalizing performance. Thiscomparative study validates the viability of hybrid cryptographic techniques and offers invaluable guidance for the choiceof best security mechanisms suited to various application demands in existing and next-generation mobile networks.Further research directions include empirical evaluation and examination of additional hybrid combinations.