Chaos-Based Stream Ciphers for 5G Inter-Slice Network Security

5G technology has transformed wireless communication networks, offering faster speeds, enhanced capacity, and seamless connectivity for numerous devices. An integral feature, network slicing, segments the infrastructure into distinct virtual networks called ‘slices’ tailored to diverse applications. Intra-slice and inter-slice domains play crucial roles in shaping 5G's flexibility and adaptability. Ensuring the security of slice networks is paramount, especially against potential threats leveraging vulnerabilities within other slices, falling within the realm of the inter-slice domain. To address this concern, cryptography-based solutions have been implemented. This paper introduces an innovative Chaos-based encryption scheme firmly grounded in chaos theory, specifically tailored for enhancing inter-slice domain security. It leverages chaotic maps, specifically the 2-Dimensional Logistic Sine Coupling Map, for key stream generation, combined with the lightweight ChaCha20 stream cipher for encryption. This fusion guarantees data confidentiality and security during transmission, in resource-limited settings, focusing primarily on enhancing the security posture within the inter-slice domain. The paper meticulously conducts a comprehensive security analysis of the proposed scheme and conducts performance comparisons with alternative encryption methodologies utilizing Baker's map and Arnold's cat map for key stream generation.