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Multi-Layer Secret Sharing for Cross-Layer Attack Defense in 5G Networks: a COTS UE Demonstration

Wai Ming Chan, Remi Chou, Taejoon Kim

TL;DR

The paper tackles cross-layer attacks in 5G where conventional cryptography hinges on key distribution that can be compromised. It introduces a two-layer XOR-based secret sharing method that encodes an $n$-bit source $S$ into a $3×3$ secret-share matrix $M$ distributed across 3 operators and 3 relays, such that any $2×2$ submatrix suffices for recovery while a full row and full column reveal no information. The method is implemented on commercial-off-the-shelf 5G UEs using WiFi-Direct coordination and UDP transmission, with no infrastructure modifications or pre-shared keys required. Evaluation under cross-layer DoS scenarios shows 100% recovery for the two-layer scheme, with high confidentiality ($>$0.9979 entropy) and a modest latency overhead (~60 ms) relative to simple repetition codes. The work demonstrates a practical, device-centric defense mechanism that enhances resilience of 5G networks in contested environments.

Abstract

This demo presents the first implementation of multi-layer secret sharing on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) 5G user equipment (UE), operating without infrastructure modifications or pre-shared keys. Our XOR-based approach distributes secret shares across network operators and distributed relays, ensuring perfect recovery and data confidentiality even if one network operator and one relay are simultaneously lost (e.g., under denial of service (DoS) or unanticipated attacks).

Multi-Layer Secret Sharing for Cross-Layer Attack Defense in 5G Networks: a COTS UE Demonstration

TL;DR

The paper tackles cross-layer attacks in 5G where conventional cryptography hinges on key distribution that can be compromised. It introduces a two-layer XOR-based secret sharing method that encodes an -bit source into a secret-share matrix distributed across 3 operators and 3 relays, such that any submatrix suffices for recovery while a full row and full column reveal no information. The method is implemented on commercial-off-the-shelf 5G UEs using WiFi-Direct coordination and UDP transmission, with no infrastructure modifications or pre-shared keys required. Evaluation under cross-layer DoS scenarios shows 100% recovery for the two-layer scheme, with high confidentiality (0.9979 entropy) and a modest latency overhead (~60 ms) relative to simple repetition codes. The work demonstrates a practical, device-centric defense mechanism that enhances resilience of 5G networks in contested environments.

Abstract

This demo presents the first implementation of multi-layer secret sharing on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) 5G user equipment (UE), operating without infrastructure modifications or pre-shared keys. Our XOR-based approach distributes secret shares across network operators and distributed relays, ensuring perfect recovery and data confidentiality even if one network operator and one relay are simultaneously lost (e.g., under denial of service (DoS) or unanticipated attacks).
Paper Structure (10 sections, 4 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 10 sections, 4 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. System Overview and Threat Model
  3. Threat Model
  4. Two-Layer Encoding/Decoding Scheme
  5. Architecture and Implementation
  6. Demonstration and Evaluation
  7. Experimental Setup
  8. Attack Simulation
  9. Performance Analysis
  10. Conclusion

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: Two-layer secret sharing system. Secret shares distributed across 3 mobile operators (columns) and 3 relays (rows) tolerate simultaneous loss of one row and one column.
  • Figure 2: Multi-layer secret sharing protocol. WiFi-Direct distribution followed by parallel multi-path transmission.
  • Figure 3: Demo hardware setup showing coordinated sender UEs (TX1-3) and receiver (RX) with real-time decoding display.
  • Figure 4: Recovery rate under simultaneous row and column failures.