Cooperation between Rohde & Schwarz and Chemnitz University of Technology

The call for proposals from the Federal Office for Information Security, which ipoque followed in September 2022, is titled "Cybersecurity and digital sovereignty in the communication technologies 5G/6G" (Cyber-Sicherheit und digitale Souveränität in den Kommunikationstechnologien 5G/6G). The project of ipoque focuses on researching a system that enables providers to securely operate mobile networks. ipoque applied in cooperation with the Chair of Communication Networks (Dr.-Ing Thomas Bauschert) and the Chair of Communications Engineering (Prof. Dr. Klaus Mößner) from Chemnitz University of Technology. It is an optimal synergy between research and development. We are also planning on constant communication with renowned mobile communication suppliers to ensure the widest user spectrum possible. This means that realizing this project not only supports the transfer of knowledge but also safeguards jobs, fosters the independence of the mobile industry and the security industry and contributes to the digital sovereignty of Germany.

The know-how for this project stems from the current product portfolio from ipoque, which boasts highly performant analytics solutions. The DPI engines R&S®PACE 2 and R&S®vPACE identify and classify thousands of applications and protocols and extract metadata in real time, even if traffic is encrypted or obfuscated. The user and control plane correlation module R&S®GSRM enables mobile networking solution providers to filter, forward and load balance subscriber-specific GTP sessions.

So far, most 5G networks operate on the so-called "security by obscurity" approach. Mobile network operators and companies promote the network as secure, but the security of the systems themselves cannot be proven without revealing their operating principles. This makes it easier for attackers to identify and exploit weaknesses that may be unknown to the operators. ipoque is developing this solution to prevent that from happening while also trying to evaluate and ensure the security of 5G and 6G mobile networks. Users and operators both benefit from the newest available technologies.