Blockchain-Based Cross-Operator Network Slice Authentication Protocol for 5G Communication

Network slicing enables the facilitation of diverse network requirements of different applications over a single physical network. Due to concepts such as Local 5G Operators (L5GOs), Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), and high-frequency utilization of 5G and beyond networks, users need to switch frequently among different network slices as well as different operators than the traditional networks. Even though a couple of researches have been conducted on cross-network slice authentication, cross-operator network slice authentication is still an indeterminate research area. Also, the proposed cross-network slice authentication frameworks possess several limitations, such as vulnerability to severe attacks, high cost, the central point of failure, and the inability to support cross-operator network slice authentication. Therefore, in this research, we develop a blockchain-based cross-network slicing, cross-operator network slice authentication framework. Our framework supports the authentication for different network slices in the same operator as well as in different operators. The security properties of the proposed protocols are validated from formal (using Real-Or-Random logic, Scyther, and AVISPA validation tool) and informal security validation. The comparative analysis is conducted for known and unknown attacks to demonstrate its efficacy in terms of communication, computational, storage, and energy consumption costs. Also, a sample prototype of the protocols is implemented along with the state-of-the-art protocols to evaluate the performance of our framework.