Vijay Shah joins $2M NTIA-funded project on 5G cybersecurity

Teresa Donnellan — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 21:06:24 +0000

Vijay Shah joins $2M NTIA-funded project on 5G cybersecurity Teresa Donnellan Thu, 02/08/2024 - 16:06

George Mason University researcher Vijay Shah has joined a $2 million project to develop a system to secure 5G Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture.

Funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the project "A Holistic Cybersecurity Testing Framework for 5G Radio Access Networks" is a collaboration with Virginia Tech, Penn State University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Shah, who leads Mason’s NextG Wireless Lab, will be allocated nearly a quarter of the project’s budget and be working with Nishith Tripathi and Jeff Reed from Virginia Tech, Syed Rafiul Hussain from Penn State University, and Bo Tang from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Vijay Shah

Security vulnerabilities in O-RAN present a critical cybersecurity challenge in the era of 5G. The team aims to create “a holistic and automated cybersecurity testing framework for O-RAN,” per the project’s executive summary.

Shah will also receive funding from the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) to investigate fingerprinting technology for 5G/NextG O-RAN supply chain risk management, additional funding that highlights the multifaceted approach taken by the NextG Wireless Lab to address 5G networks cybersecurity challenges.

As part of these initiatives, the NextG Wireless Lab is actively growing its research team, with opportunities for postdoctoral researchers and PhD students interested in O-RAN cybersecurity, testing, and supply chain management.

Those interested in contributing to cutting-edge research in this field should email Shah.

Topics

Department of Cyber Security Engineering

Department of Cyber Security Engineering faculty

Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI)

5G/6G Wireless Communications

Cybersecurity engineering design team protects critical infrastructure

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 20:14:10 +0000

Cybersecurity engineering design team protects critical infrastructure Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/05/2021 - 16:14

Industrial control systems (ICS) manage our everyday water, electricity, and gas resources. The same interconnectedness and automation that makes these systems effective and efficient also increases their vulnerability to dangerous attacks that could leave cities and states without essential resources.

A cybersecurity engineering senior design team is testing a scaled-down ICS system provided by Dragos, Inc. to help the company shore up its cybersecurity infrastructure.

Seniors Marissa Costa, Natalie Sebastian, Kyle Simmons, Andrew Smith, Santiago Taboada Patino, and Zaine Wilson are working together to address the problem “Our whole job is to poke around and complete a security assessment on the ICS that Dragos, Inc. provided. We are attacking it and pinpointing vulnerabilities that need to be addressed,” says Patino.

The team is penetration testing numerous components of the system Dragos, Inc. provided them to use. Penetration testing simulates a cyber-attack and pinpoints vulnerabilities. “The penetration testing we are doing is the best way possible to gain an understanding of how a cyber-attack could be carried out. Pen testing is like rating a bridge for how much weight it can support versus actually building a test bridge and driving progressively heavier trucks over it until it collapses,” says Wilson.

Ensuring ICS security like the one the students are working on safeguards our world’s critical infrastructure. Power plants, water distributors, and gas companies all use ICS to protect the delivery of their customers’ essential resources. “Power, water, gas—they all start at one point and end at another, typically people’s homes or businesses. ICS provides the security to safeguard those processes, and without security measures, entire power plants could be shut down by malicious cyber attackers,” says Simmons.

Dragos, Inc. delivered the system to the Fairfax Campus last fall. The team is spending their senior year penetration testing and using the vulnerabilities they find to create detection rules that can be included in future updates. Working with their faculty advisor, Assistant Professor Thomas G. Winston, and a subject matter expert from Dragos, Inc. makes the process as efficient as possible.

The Department of Cyber Security Engineering forges partnerships with companies like Dragos, Inc. to provide real-world projects for students. But this project has a specific impact that made the team excited to start. “Industrial control systems have cyber-physical effects. People can understand it easier as opposed to more obscure cyber-attacks. In this case, a system could be breached, and lives could be lost,” says Wilson.

Attacks like these have occurred across the globe and even close to home. Costa points to a recent attack in the United States that illustrated the vulnerabilities in the system. In February, a cyber attacker hacked a water treatment plant in Florida and remotely adjusted sodium hydroxide levels to more than 100 times the normal level, news outlets reported. Luckily, the system operator noticed the intrusion and immediately reduced the level back, but left unchanged, the water would have been toxic.

Dangerous attacks like those in Florida are why the team’s work is valuable to society.

The team jumped on the chance to work on this project because of its importance. They are excited they are contributing to protecting everyday life. “Industrial control systems like this one involve real people in their homes, people in a community who can be harmed by attacks on these systems," says Costa.

Topics

cyber infrastructure

Cybersecurity

cybersecurity bachelor's program

Senior Capstone Project

Senior Design Project