Beyond Certificates: Securing 5G with Identity-Based Encryption

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Author: Denis Avetisyan

A new approach to authentication replaces traditional certificate-based systems with a streamlined, identity-based encryption scheme designed for the demands of modern 5G networks and cloud infrastructure.

This review proposes leveraging post-quantum cryptography and identity-based encryption to simplify key management and reduce overhead in 5G Core networks and Kubernetes deployments.

While certificate-based Public Key Infrastructure remains central to securing service-to-service communication in cloud-native systems and 5G networks, it introduces operational complexity and performance bottlenecks-issues exacerbated by the looming threat of quantum computing. This paper, ‘Post-Quantum Identity-Based TLS for 5G Service-Based Architecture and Cloud-Native Infrastructure’, proposes a certificate-free authentication framework leveraging post-quantum Identity-Based Encryption (IBE) to streamline TLS connections and reduce key management overhead. By replacing certificates with identity-derived keys, we demonstrate a viable path toward securing both 5G Core deployments and Kubernetes environments without disrupting existing trust domains. Could this approach offer a pragmatic pathway to post-quantum security for private distributed systems, balancing performance with robust cryptographic protection?

The Quantum Threat and the Imperative for Cryptographic Evolution

The foundations of modern digital security, including widely deployed systems like Private Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), are increasingly vulnerable due to rapid advancements in quantum computing. Current cryptographic algorithms, such as RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography, rely on mathematical problems that are computationally difficult for classical computers to solve, but are expected to be efficiently broken by sufficiently powerful quantum computers utilizing algorithms like Shor’s algorithm. This poses an existential threat to the confidentiality and integrity of data currently protected by these methods, encompassing everything from secure website connections and financial transactions to sensitive government communications and long-term data storage. The looming capability of quantum computers to compromise these systems necessitates a proactive transition to quantum-resistant cryptographic alternatives to preserve data security in the future.

The relentless march of quantum computing presents a fundamental challenge to modern data security, demanding a proactive transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography. Current encryption standards, relied upon for secure communication and data storage, are based on mathematical problems that quantum computers are poised to solve with unprecedented speed, effectively rendering them obsolete. This isn’t a distant threat; the development of increasingly powerful quantum processors necessitates immediate attention to safeguard sensitive information against future decryption. Post-Quantum Cryptography focuses on developing and implementing cryptographic algorithms resistant to attacks from both classical and quantum computers, ensuring continued confidentiality, integrity, and authentication in a post-quantum world. The shift requires not just algorithm replacement, but also a comprehensive re-evaluation of cryptographic infrastructure and protocols to maintain a robust security posture against this evolving technological landscape.

Even with the transition to post-quantum cryptography, data security isn’t guaranteed; vulnerabilities like Side-Channel Attacks – which exploit implementation details rather than mathematical flaws – remain a persistent threat. A novel system addresses this by minimizing dependence on computationally expensive post-quantum signature schemes and the complex certificate infrastructure they require. By streamlining these processes, the design significantly reduces both computational load and network bandwidth usage, offering a more efficient and resilient approach to safeguarding data in the quantum era. This focus on practical implementation details, alongside algorithmic advancements, is crucial for establishing truly secure communication protocols moving forward.

Identity-Based Encryption: A Mathematically Elegant Alternative

Traditional public key infrastructure (PKI) relies on certificates issued by trusted Certificate Authorities (CAs) to bind public keys to identities; however, this system introduces complexity in management, distribution, and potential compromise of CAs. Identity-Based Encryption (IBE) circumvents these issues by directly utilizing an identity string – such as an email address – as the public key. This eliminates the need for a PKI and associated certificate lifecycle management. Instead of requesting a certificate, a user’s public key is derived algorithmically from their identity and a master public key held by a trusted authority. This approach streamlines key management, reduces administrative overhead, and offers improved agility, particularly in dynamic environments where frequent key updates are required.

Identity-Based Encryption (IBE) streamlines public key infrastructure (PKI) by directly utilizing an identity string – such as an email address – to generate a user’s public key. This eliminates the need for a Certificate Authority (CA) to issue, distribute, and revoke digital certificates, which are traditionally required to bind a public key to an identity. In IBE, a trusted authority, known as the Private Key Generator (PKG), uses the identity string and a master secret key to generate the corresponding private key. This approach reduces administrative overhead and potential points of failure associated with certificate management, offering a more scalable and agile key management system compared to traditional PKI-based solutions. The simplification arises from directly associating the identity with the cryptographic key, removing the intermediary step of certificate validation.

The integration of Identity-Based Encryption (IBE) with Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) is crucial for long-term security, particularly through protocols like IBE-TLS. This combination addresses vulnerabilities IBE might otherwise have against quantum computing attacks. IBE-TLS achieves security properties equivalent to traditional TLS – namely mutual authentication and forward secrecy – but eliminates reliance on X.509 certificates and associated Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). This is accomplished by deriving cryptographic keys directly from user identities and employing PQC algorithms to protect against both classical and quantum attacks, thereby providing a future-proof and simplified key management solution.

Orchestrating Security in the 5G Core: A Network of Increased Complexity

The 5G Core Network’s Service-Based Architecture (SBA) introduces inherent complexity to security considerations. Unlike previous generations relying on dedicated hardware, the 5G Core utilizes a distributed, cloud-native approach where network functions are implemented as software services. This paradigm shift necessitates a move away from perimeter-based security models. Each service within the SBA communicates with others via standardized interfaces, creating a larger attack surface and requiring granular, service-to-service authentication and authorization. The dynamic nature of service instantiation and scaling, facilitated by Network Function Virtualization, further complicates security management, demanding automated and adaptable security solutions capable of responding to rapidly changing network conditions. Traditional security mechanisms are often insufficient to address the scale and dynamism of the 5G SBA, driving the need for advanced techniques like Zero Trust and enhanced key management protocols.

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is fundamental to 5G’s operational agility, enabling operators to rapidly deploy and scale network services. However, this dynamic environment introduces expanded attack surfaces and necessitates a robust security framework. Zero Trust Security principles, specifically “never trust, always verify,” are crucial for securing NFV infrastructure. This approach mandates strict identity verification for every user and device, regardless of location, and continuous validation of security posture before granting access to network resources. Implementing Zero Trust within NFV requires micro-segmentation, least privilege access control, and continuous monitoring to mitigate threats arising from the increased flexibility and complexity of virtualized network functions. Failure to adopt such principles exposes the 5G core to significant risks, including unauthorized access, data breaches, and service disruption.

Identity-Based Encryption with TLS (IBE-TLS) offers a method for authentication and key exchange within the 5G Core by utilizing identities as public keys, eliminating the need for a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Integration of ML-KEM, a post-quantum Key Encapsulation Mechanism, strengthens this system against attacks from quantum computers. This approach supports forward secrecy and confidentiality while addressing the vulnerabilities of current cryptographic algorithms. Implementation within the 5G Core’s Service-Based Architecture allows for scalability and interoperability, enhancing the overall security posture of the network without requiring significant alterations to existing infrastructure.

Threshold Private Key Generators (TPKGs) mitigate key management risks within the 5G Core by distributing key generation and storage across multiple, independent entities; compromise of a single entity does not reveal the full private key. This approach contrasts with traditional centralized key management systems. Furthermore, utilizing TPKGs enables a certificate-less TLS handshake, eliminating the need for certificate exchange and associated processing. This reduction in handshake data directly translates to decreased handshake size and lower latency, minimizing overhead and improving the efficiency of secure communication channels within the 5G network. The performance gains are particularly relevant for latency-sensitive 5G applications.

Kubernetes: The Foundation for Secure Orchestration and Provable Correctness

Kubernetes has emerged as a pivotal technology for modern network security, offering a robust framework to deploy and manage secure network functions at scale. Traditionally, deploying and scaling network functions – such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and VPN gateways – involved complex manual configurations and limited elasticity. Kubernetes streamlines this process through automation and orchestration, enabling security teams to rapidly deploy, update, and scale these critical components in response to evolving threats. The platform’s declarative configuration allows for the definition of desired security states, which Kubernetes actively maintains, ensuring consistent policy enforcement across the network. This capability is particularly valuable in dynamic environments, like cloud-native applications and microservices architectures, where frequent scaling and updates are commonplace, and a centralized, automated approach to security is essential for maintaining a strong security posture.

The Kubernetes API Server and Kubelet are central to managing both application deployment and the enforcement of security protocols within a containerized environment. The API Server functions as the control plane, receiving requests to deploy or modify applications, and subsequently translating those instructions into desired states. These states, which include specific security policies – such as network policies, pod security contexts, and resource limitations – are then communicated to the Kubelet. The Kubelet, running on each node in the cluster, is responsible for enacting those policies by configuring the container runtime and ensuring that pods adhere to the defined security parameters. This collaborative process allows for dynamic and automated security management, adapting to changing application needs and threat landscapes while maintaining a consistent security posture across the entire Kubernetes cluster.

At the heart of a secure Kubernetes deployment lies etcd, a distributed key-value store crucial for maintaining the integrity and consistency of all cluster data, including sensitive security configurations. This robust data store doesn’t merely archive settings; it acts as the single source of truth for everything from network policies and role-based access control (RBAC) definitions to cryptographic keys and secret management parameters. Because etcd employs the Raft consensus algorithm, any modification to these critical security settings is reliably replicated across the cluster, ensuring high availability and preventing configuration drift. Furthermore, etcd’s transactional capabilities guarantee that complex security policy updates are applied atomically, eliminating the risk of partial or inconsistent configurations that could introduce vulnerabilities. The system’s persistent storage and consistent snapshotting also enable rapid recovery from failures, preserving the cluster’s security posture even in the face of unexpected disruptions.

Within the complex ecosystem of Kubernetes, ensuring the security of communication protocols is paramount. Formal verification, a rigorous mathematical process, offers a pathway to definitively establish the correctness of Identity-Based Encryption with Transport Layer Security (IBE-TLS) implementations. Guided by the Dolev-Yao Model – a foundational framework in cryptographic protocol analysis – this approach doesn’t rely on testing or empirical observation, but instead proves, with mathematical certainty, that an IBE-TLS system will behave as intended, even against a computationally unbounded adversary. By explicitly modeling potential attacker capabilities and exhaustively analyzing all possible execution paths, formal verification can uncover subtle vulnerabilities that might otherwise remain hidden, ultimately bolstering the security posture of containerized applications orchestrated by Kubernetes and guaranteeing the confidentiality and integrity of data in transit.

The pursuit of streamlined authentication, as detailed in the proposal for identity-based TLS, echoes a fundamental principle of elegant design: minimizing complexity to maximize reliability. The shift from certificate-based systems to identity-based encryption, particularly when fortified by post-quantum cryptography, embodies this philosophy. As Bertrand Russell observed, “The point of mathematics is, after all, to describe the universe.” This aligns perfectly with the article’s aim; by grounding security in mathematically provable cryptographic schemes, the system strives for a universal truth, offering a robust and verifiable solution for the challenges of 5G networks and cloud-native infrastructure. The goal isn’t merely functional security, but a demonstrable, mathematically sound one.

What’s Next?

The presented work, while offering a conceptually clean departure from certificate-based authentication, merely shifts the locus of complexity. The elegance of identity-based encryption lies in its apparent simplicity, yet the secure realization of a practical IBE system-particularly one anchored in post-quantum primitives-demands rigorous formal verification. The reduction in computational overhead, touted as a benefit, is predicated on the assumption that the master key exposure risk can be adequately mitigated-a problem that continues to haunt the field. The boundary conditions of this risk, and the provable security guarantees, remain the central challenge.

Future work must move beyond performance benchmarks and focus on establishing the mathematical consistency of these post-quantum IBE constructions. The seamless integration with existing cloud-native infrastructure-Kubernetes, in this instance-is not an inherent property of the cryptography itself, but rather a contingent engineering detail. The true test lies in demonstrating that the system’s security is not merely ‘good enough’ in practice, but demonstrably correct, even under adversarial conditions not yet conceived.

Ultimately, the value of this approach rests not on replacing one complex system with another, but on achieving a fundamental reduction in the number of unproven assumptions. The pursuit of cryptographic elegance is not about achieving minimal complexity, but about maximizing predictability-and that predictability must be mathematically demonstrable, not empirically observed.

Original article: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2602.04238.pdf

Contact the author: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avetisyan/

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2026-02-05 07:14