Coontec launches 'Secure NXTCore': 'White-box cryptography strengthens security for private 5G networks'

2024.06.04. The Fair Economy — Coontec, a converged security specialist (CEO Bang Hyeok-jun), announced on the 4th that it is launching "Secure NXTCore," its self-developed solution for strengthening security on private 5G networks.

According to Coontec, Secure NXTCore allows encryption and decryption operations to be performed while safely protecting cryptographic keys without directly exposing them within running programs. As a result, it can enhance security on 5G private network devices through software alone, without altering the existing hardware configuration.

White-box cryptography is designed to protect cryptographic keys safely even in environments where they are at risk of exposure. The technology has proven its utility by being used for mobile finance by various financial institutions in Korea. Through this, Coontec aims to strengthen security on 5G private networks, improve the safety of encryption operations, and ensure data protection for end users.

Coontec is not stopping at applying white-box cryptography to Secure NXTCore; based on its capabilities built up through years of security projects and solution development, it is preparing for the next stage of security enhancement.

Park Seong-jin, a director at Coontec, emphasized, "Simply applying an encryption module is not sufficient; comprehensive security enhancements across the entire network within 5G private networks are needed."

While 5G private networks perform service-specific access control through their unique feature of network slicing, access control for individual devices requires additional security measures. In response, Secure NXTCore introduces an enhanced authentication system to prevent security incidents caused by the lack of an authentication framework, in addition to applying encryption modules. By thoroughly managing the security of individual devices connected to 5G private networks through this enhanced authentication system, it enables more effective responses from the perspectives of device management and security. This systematic approach contributes to increasing the safety of 5G private networks and further strengthens data protection for customers and enterprises.

Additionally, it provides infrastructure construction and services, presents comprehensive security solutions for devices, and offers security features that can be applied during operational monitoring. It can identify abnormal behavior within the network and control access at the core to respond swiftly to security threats.

To stably provide enhanced security features like Secure NXTCore on private 5G networks, which have traditionally emphasized ultra-high speed and ultra-low latency, support for the core functions of the 5G core itself is also necessary. As encryption, authentication and real-time monitoring are applied to existing data communications, maximum data processing speed has also become important. Secure NXTCore does not overlook this point and is notable for staying true to the core functions of the 5G core as well. The solution's high-performance processing capability supports throughput of up to 80Gbps, meaning it can rapidly process large volumes of data. In particular, it allows security processing and data analysis to be carried out simultaneously in environments where real-time data processing is critical.

Bang Hyeok-jun, CEO of Coontec, stated, "Through Secure NXTCore, which integrates high-performance 5G core functions with security features, customers will be able to rapidly adopt new technologies and remain free from security threats."

Coontec plans to continue its research and development in private 5G network security, aiming to solidify its position as a security leader in the 5G era and, further ahead, the 6G era.