A new indigenous software technology solution that can proactively detect and prevent zero-day vulnerability attacks in the 5G networks, thereby reducing the network downtime has been developed by the software experts from IIT-M Pravartak Technologies Foundation at IIT Madras, a Technology Innovation Hub for Sensors, Networking, Actuators and Control Systems (SNACS), supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
This can help smoothen countrywide communication as 5G networks become its lifeline in the near future, said a statement from the DST under the Union Science and Technology Ministry. Around ninety percent of the 5G technology is implemented into software by integrating several latest technologies (NFV, SDN, control plane/user plane segregation) which enable testing the technology easily. But attack surface area is increased multifold in this process and is impossible to manage manually. Automating the whole testing process and continuous monitoring is the only sustainable solution, said the statement. Currently majority of the run time zero-day vulnerabilities are identified post attack, thereby creating damage to the brand as well as increasing the cost of recovery.
This technology solution can automatically identify zero-day vulnerabilities in the network in advance by using techniques such as fuzzing and test oracles. Since it can help avoid the attacks in advance, it protects organisations against loss and saving the credibility of the brands.