Security Challenges and Solutions for 5G HetNet

Abstract

The exponential growth of smartphones and other smart communicating devices has led to the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Literature shows, one person will have more than six intelligent connected devices in future. The existing network infrastructure and bandwidth will be unable to accommodate the growing number of smart connected devices, therefore, achieving the expected Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) remains a challenge. The advent and deployment of 5G network bring a massive number of innovative network services and exceptional user experience by providing superior data rates. Despite numerous benefits that 5G offers, the security and privacy in 5G is a challenge due to the existing large number of heterogeneous networks (HetNet). To harvest the numerous benefits of 5G, it is imperative to provide adequate protection mechanisms to maintain the user and data privacy in growing HetNet. This article comprehensively addresses the existing security issues in 5G HetNet and solutions for the identified problems in the HetNet edge.