Purdue professors part of groundbreaking effort to safeguard U.S. military and 5G networks
David J. Love, Nick Trbovich Professor in Purdue’s Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, co-leads a project aimed at ensuring the U.S. military’s safe and secure use of 5G. Titled “NSF Convergence Accelerator Track G: Combating Vulnerability and Unawareness in 5G Network Security,” the project is one of five funded in Phase 2 of the NSF’s Convergence Accelerator Track G: Securely Operating Through 5G Infrastructure. The Purdue team includes Sonia Fahmy, professor of computer science, and Christopher Brinton, Elmore Associate Professor of ECE. They are all affiliated with The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) at Purdue.
“We are excited to pursue research on securing 5G,” said Love. “Each new release of the cellular standards has included more adaptive features and complexity, which improve user performance but dramatically enlarge the attack space. I believe our team could have a significant impact on 5G deployments and lead to more secure 6G systems.”
Phase 1 of Track G began in September 2022 with 16 teams. Five were chosen for Phase 2, which includes a two-year program focusing on technology development, intellectual property, financial management, sustainability planning, and communications.
Purdue is part of the Zero Trust X (ZTX) team, led by the University of Kansas Center for Research. The project aims to develop Zero Trust Chain (ZTC) software to ensure secure situational awareness among military units using potentially untrustworthy 5G networks. The ZTC software includes innovative security mechanisms, real-time threat detection, and integration with public 5G/O-RAN networks, ensuring location privacy and resilience against attacks. The team’s work will undergo laboratory-scale testing and preparation for potential commercial adoption, fostering collaborative partnerships and sustainable impacts beyond Phase 2 objectives.
David J. Love, Nick Trbovich Professor of ECE
Christopher Brinton, Elmore Associate Professor of ECE