Security Challenges and Solutions for a 5G Internet-Integrated Sensor Networks

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, the evolution of well-known wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is fostering the development of new applications and services in the so-called “smart cities”. To realize such vision, 5G has become in one of the main enablers for the interconnection of physical devices into the Internet infrastructure. Indeed, it is expected this trend will continue in the coming years transforming current industrial, healthcare or transportation systems into more efficient and sustainable environments. In spite of the envisioned benefits from such technological convergence, new security challenges will require a common understanding and effort from different stakeholders. The vision of a 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks embraces different emerging technologies (e.g., Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LP-WAN)), which demand for innovative security techniques to cope with efficiency, scalability and interoperability aspects. Furthermore, other recent paradigms, such as Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Fog Computing are being strongly considered by industry and research communities for the realization of innovative 5G-enabled systems and services. As a result of these technological advances, there is the need to design and implement cost-effective and user-centric security solutions. The development of such mechanisms must consider these multidisciplinary advances to foster the development of a more trusted data-driven society.

We seek high quality papers examining innovative and multidisciplinary methods and techniques to identify and/or address security and concerns for 5G-enabled Internet-integrated sensor networks. Papers will be peer reviewed by independent reviewers and selected based on their quality and relevance to the topics of this Special Issue.

Potential topics include but they are not limited to:

• Security architectures to support 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks
• Security protocols and cryptographic techniques to support 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks
• Security aspects from the integration of LPWAN technologies (e.g., LoRaWAN) to support 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks

• Authentication, authorization and key management aspects of 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks and 5G-enabled systems
• Trust and reputation models applied to 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks and 5G-enabled systems
• Security certification aspects of 5G-enabled technologies and devices/networks
• Interoperability and scalability aspects of 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks
• Mobility aspects and security implications in 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks
• Vulnerability and intrusion detection techniques for 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks
• Signal processing techniques to identify security threats in 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks
• Automated security risk assessment and testing for 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks
• Formal analysis of security protocols for 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks
• Validation and performance analysis of security techniques for 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks
• Application of 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks into emerging use cases, such as transport, energy or eHealth
• Use of blockchain for the development of 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks
• Integration of 5G Internet-integrated sensor networks with SDN/NFV techniques to support IoT-enabled scenarios
• Implementation and deployment of 5G-enabled systems into emerging scenarios, including intelligent transport systems, eHealth, Industry 4.0 and smart cities
• Regulatory aspects on the development of 5G technologies and security implications
• Standardization aspects in 5G

Dr. Ramon Sanchez-Iborra
Dr. Jose Luis Hernandez-Ramos
Prof. Dr. Jorge Granjal
Guest Editors

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