Promoting cybersecurity standards to enhance 5G network security

Vietnam Security Summit 2025 is the leading prestigious event in the field of network information security held on May 23 in Ho Chi Minh City. With the theme "Ensuring network security and building trust in the digital age", the event attracted more than 1,000 leaders and experts in the field of information security, discussing the latest trends and security solutions, helping businesses effectively deal with threats in the new era.

Attending the conference, Mr. Louis Lou - Vice President of Huawei's Cyber Security and Privacy Department brought a multi-dimensional perspective on cybersecurity trends, contributing to promoting a safe and sustainable digital ecosystem in Vietnam.

Mr. Louis Lou - Vice President of Cyber Security and Privacy Protection Department of Huawei shared at Vietnam Security Summit 2025.

At the beginning of his speech, Mr. Louis Lou said that all critical infrastructures today, including government, healthcare, finance, electricity, telecommunications, transportation,education , oil and gas, are facing unprecedented threats from cyberspace. The world has witnessed a series of serious cyber attacks from the Colonial Pipeline incident (USA) that caused widespread disruption of the fuel supply chain in 2021, the consecutive attacks on the Ukrainian power grid that caused nationwide power outages in 2022, to the Royal Mail incident (UK) with 44GB of stolen data and a ransom of up to 80 million USD in 2023...

But that doesn’t stop there, the world will face new challenges in 5G network security. Currently, 5G is opening a new era for industries with multiple applications such as: ultra-fast data transmission (eMBB), real-time communication (URLLC), connecting millions of IoT devices (mMTC). However, the complex and distributed 5G network architecture becomes a “double-edged sword”, creating 3 major challenges in network security.

Specifically, the way network functions are deployed at the edge and network slicing to serve different needs is blurring the lines between traditional security layers. Allowing more devices, systems, and people to access the network also increases the risk from untrusted entities. Along with that, new technologies such as virtualization and cloud computing will increase the attack surface.

Faced with that reality, building cyber resilience - the ability to maintain continuous system operations even when attacked - has been included in many countries' cybersecurity strategies. Strengthening cyber resilience from both a technical and legal perspective has been clearly mentioned in the US National Cyber Security Strategy 2023, the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) issued in 2024, etc.

In the face of evolving threats, operators around the world can rely on two key industry tools to strengthen their security posture, said Louis Lou. Specifically, GSMA – as the world’s largest telecommunications association – has built MCKB and NESAS as industry-leading cybersecurity certification and guidance programs.

The NESAS standard, developed by GSMA and 3GPP, is widely adopted across the industry. More than 20 countries have recognized it as a standard for evaluating vendor product security.

The GSMA MCKB standard is used globally as a cybersecurity guide, helping telecom operators build their security capabilities and enhance overall network security and resilience.

Huawei, together with its GSMA and 3GPP partners, has been actively participating in the development of authoritative technical standards to promote global security standardization. Huawei has become the first technology vendor globally to pass the NESAS/SCAS security tests, demonstrating Huawei's commitment to leading cybersecurity. The NESAS and SCAS device cybersecurity assessment mechanisms have been approved in more than 20 countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. The GSMA NESAS standard has protected more than 1 million 5G base stations worldwide.

Mr. Louis Lou also shared many practical models from global operators, aiming to enhance network resilience for industries, while meeting regulatory compliance requirements. A typical example is the GSMA MCKB deployment model in 3 phases: Foundation phase - strengthening device security configuration; Advanced phase - integrating access monitoring, detecting abnormalities in operating accounts; Expansion phase - providing secure 5G services for businesses, developing industry-specific security services.

In addition, he also presented the practical method of assessing the security maturity of network operators, based on MCKB and industry-recognized standards. The scope of the end-to-end (E2E) assessment includes 9 categories with 239 security controls, conducted in 4 phases: Overall planning, Self-test and investigation, Gap analysis between practice and plan, Network security optimization.

The above global practices are all considered suitable for the digital transformation process that is taking place strongly in Vietnam. Along with the development of 5G, network infrastructure should be designed with security from the beginning.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Louis Lou emphasized that Huawei is ready to work closely with Vietnamese telecom operators and the government to jointly build secure 5G networks, protect against threats by approaching international standards and developing network resilience strategies for each industry. In addition to advanced security solutions and products, Huawei is also committed to promoting innovation, training and support for the industry.

Yellow River

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/kinh-te/kinh-doanh/thuc-day-tieu-chuan-an-ninh-mang-tang-cuong-bao-mat-mang-luoi-5g/20250526104901656