A Zero-Knowledge-Based Approach for Secure Inter-Slice Communication in 6G Networks

Abstract

As the sixth generation of the cellular network is set to be deployed around 2030, the needs for ubiquitous connectivity and increased resource demand will press for further collaboration between different stakeholders to constitute an efficient and resilient network fabric. In practice, the deployment of multiple network slices in multiple domains is one of the promising approaches to reach this vision. However, from a privacy standpoint, this introduces additional risks for the customers, as a malicious slice may contemplate the impersonation of a legit one for exfiltrating network traffic. It is therefore necessary to proceed with slice identification and authentication to prevent any collaboration with a non-legit network domain while avoiding exchanging sensitive data before authentication. In response to this challenge, this paper presents a privacy-preserving authentication framework for inter-slice communication. The framework integrates Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) for privacy-preserving authentication and Public Key Cryptography (PKC) for secure identity management, ensuring that no sensitive information is jeopardized before a slice can be trusted. We expose an implementation prototype and evaluate it in controlled slicing environment, demonstrating its ability to maintain performance under varying operational constraints. Quantitative results highlight the efficiency limited resource consumption of the authentication model, its scalability in distributed environments, and robustness against security threats.