Human Centric Secure Onboarding in 6G

Mobile networks have continuously evolved since the 1980s, driven by the increasing demand for improved performance and the integration of advanced technologies, with 6G developments already underway. As networks become more critical in delivering a range of innovative technologies, maintaining user trust in network security and privacy is essential. This dissertation presents a comprehensive onboarding solution aimed at enhancing security and privacy in network applications, emphasizing usability, transparency, and user control over data. Aligned with DevSecOps and DevPrivOps principles, the solution ensures compliance with evolving security and privacy regulations. By leveraging secure service design, including features such as self-mutation capabilities and the safe modification of attributes, the solution enhances security without compromising usability. These improved network applications can then be advertised to end users based on their security and privacy levels. The proposed system was implemented on top of the OpenSlice platform, integrating new components and novel user-centric UI for onboarding services. Additionally, high-level policies were defined to enable flexible configuration of these services. Testing with real-world applications showed that while service instantiation time increased slightly, the improvements in security and privacy justified the added overhead, providing a practical, scalable solution for next-generation network infrastructures.