NIST Paper on 5G Network Security Design Principles

NIST Publications

Published March 19th, 2026

Detected March 21st, 2026

Summary

NIST has published a white paper outlining design principles for commercial and private 5G network operators to enhance cybersecurity and privacy. The paper, part of a series, focuses on isolating different types of network traffic.

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What changed

NIST has released a white paper titled "5G Network Security Design Principles: Applying 5G Cybersecurity and Privacy Capabilities." This document provides recommended network infrastructure design principles for 5G network operators, focusing on the isolation of data plane, control plane, and operation and maintenance (O&M) traffic to improve cybersecurity and privacy. It is part of a series demonstrating capabilities tested on the NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) 5G security testbed.

This guidance is intended for commercial and private 5G network operators. While it does not impose new regulatory obligations, it offers best practices for network design. Compliance officers should review the principles outlined in the paper to assess their organization's current 5G network security posture and consider implementing the recommended design principles for enhanced protection.

What to do next

Review NIST CSWP-36E for 5G network security and privacy design principles.
Assess current 5G network infrastructure against recommended traffic isolation principles.

Source document (simplified)

PUBLICATIONS

5G Network Security Design Principles: Applying 5G Cybersecurity and Privacy Capabilities

Published

March 19, 2026

Author(s)

Michael Bartock, Jeffrey Cichonski, Murugiah Souppaya, Karen Kent, Parisa Grayeli, Sanjeev Sharma

Abstract

This white paper describes the network infrastructure design principles that commercial and private 5G network operators are encouraged to use to improve cybersecurity and privacy. Such a network infrastructure isolates types of 5G network traffic from each other: data plane, control plane, and operation and maintenance (O&M) traffic. This white paper is part of a series called Applying 5G Cybersecurity and Privacy Capabilities, which covers 5G cybersecurity and privacy-supporting capabilities that were demonstrated on the NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) 5G security testbed as part of the 5G Cybersecurity project at the NCCoE. Citation NIST Cybersecurity White Papers (CSWP) - 36E Report Number 36E Pub Type NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.CSWP.36E Local Download

Keywords

3GPP, 5G, cybersecurity, privacy, virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) Information technology, Cybersecurity and privacy and Advanced communications

Citation

Bartock, M.
, Cichonski, J.
, Souppaya, M.
, Kent, K.
, Grayeli, P.
and Sharma, S.

(2026),
5G Network Security Design Principles: Applying 5G Cybersecurity and Privacy Capabilities, NIST Cybersecurity White Papers (CSWP), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.CSWP.36E, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=961427       
  (Accessed March 20, 2026)