CTIA, a trade association representing the wireless communications industry in the United States, this week announced the launch of its 5G Security Test Bed (STB), a security testing and validation initiative dedicated to commercial 5G networks.
CTIA created the STB in partnership with organizations across wireless, tech, and academia to test 5G security recommendations across real-world conditions using commercial-grade equipment and facilities. The 5G Security Test Bed's founding members—AT&T, Ericsson, T-Mobile, UScellular, MITRE, and the University of Maryland (UMD)—contribute invaluable industry expertise that strengthens the STB's ability to enhance the wireless security ecosystem and ensure strong protections on 5G networks.
5G is the most secure generation of wireless technology, with enhanced protections built into it from the ground-up. The STB was created to build on this foundation, testing use cases, making recommendations, and further bolstering 5G's security to benefit consumers, enterprises, and government.
Governed by industry leaders, guided by government priorities, and managed by CTIA, the test bed is the latest in a series of steps the industry has taken to make 5G the most secure network ever. Its founding members developed the initiative through their participation in CTIA's Cybersecurity Working Group, which convenes the world's leading telecom and tech companies to assess and address the present and future of cybersecurity.
Chris Boyer, VP, Global Security and Technology Policy, AT&T
We are excited to have a network dedicated to testing security, which is paramount for the success of 5G. This effort builds on the work underway in standards setting bodies, such as 3GPP, and will enable the industry to demonstrate 5G security in a real-word setting for consumers, enterprise businesses and government." —
Drew Morin, Director, Federal Cyber Security Technology and Engineering Programs, T-Mobile
5G is the most secure generation of wireless networks to date, and we are dedicated to enhancing those protections even further. We're thrilled that the 5G Security Test Bed will provide an environment to assess potential threats to 5G security raised by security researchers." —
