Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) is re-shaping mobile network architecture by promoting openness, disaggregation, and cross-vendor interoperability. However, this architectural flexibility introduces new security challenges, espe-cially in deployments where multiple mobile network operators (MNOs) jointly operate shared components. Existing Zero Trust Architectures (ZTA) in O-RAN, as defined by governmental and industry standards, implicitly assume that authenticated components will comply with operational policies. However, this assumption creates a critical blind spot: misconfigured or compro-mised components can silently violate policies, misuse resources, or corrupt downstream processes (e.g., ML-based RIC xApps). To address this critical gap, we propose a monitoring frame-work for low-trust O-RAN environments that proactively verifies configuration state and control behavior against tenant-defined policies. Our system provides scalable, verifiable oversight to enhance transparency and trust in O-RAN operations. We im-plement and evaluate the framework using standardized O-RAN configurations, with total processing latency of approximately 200 ms, demonstrating its efficiency and practicality for timely policy enforcement and compliance auditing in multi-MNO deployments.
Authors: Hexuan Yu, Mohaimin Al Barat, Yang Xiao, Y. Thomas Hou, Wenjing Lou
Institutions: Virginia Tech, University of Kentucky
Language: English
Subfield: Computer Networks and Communications
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7091347126