Closing the Visibility Gap: A Monitoring Framework for Verifiable Open RAN Operations

2025-09-03

AI Summary

Open RAN deployments shared across multiple mobile network operators (MNOs) suffer from a security blind spot: certified components may violate tenant-specific policies due to misconfiguration or compromise, yet existing zero-trust architectures (ZTAs) lack continuous runtime behavioral verification. To address this, we propose the first tenant-policy-aware, verifiable runtime monitoring framework for Open RAN. Our approach leverages standardized O-RAN interfaces to synchronize configurations and trace control-plane behaviors, integrating a lightweight attestation mechanism with a policy-compliance engine for real-time cross-vendor auditing and anomaly detection. Evaluated end-to-end latency is approximately 200 ms. The framework closes a critical ZTA gap—runtime assurance for already-authenticated components—in multi-MNO Open RAN environments. It significantly enhances operational transparency, trustworthiness, and robustness without vendor lock-in.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Plan Execution and Monitoring
• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight
• Machine Learning: Hardware-aware ML

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Energy management for devices in mobile Web and WoT environments
• Security and Privacy: Data transparency and provenance
• Responsible Web: Consent frameworks and practices on the web

Abstract

Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) is reshaping mobile network architecture by promoting openness, disaggregation, and cross-vendor interoperability. However, this architectural flexibility introduces new security challenges, especially in deployments where multiple mobile network operators (MNOs) jointly operate shared components. Existing Zero Trust Architectures (ZTA) in O-RAN, as defined by governmental and industry standards, implicitly assume that authenticated components will comply with operational policies. However, this assumption creates a critical blind spot: misconfigured or compromised components can silently violate policies, misuse resources, or corrupt downstream processes (e.g., ML-based RIC xApps). To address this critical gap, we propose a monitoring framework for low-trust O-RAN environments that proactively verifies configuration state and control behavior against tenant-defined policies. Our system provides scalable, verifiable oversight to enhance transparency and trust in O-RAN operations. We implement and evaluate the framework using standardized O-RAN configurations, with total processing latency of approximately 200 ms, demonstrating its efficiency and practicality for timely policy enforcement and compliance auditing in multi-MNO deployments.

Problem

• Addressing security challenges in Open RAN multi-operator deployments
• Detecting misconfigured or compromised components violating policies
• Providing verifiable oversight for O-RAN configuration and behavior

Innovation

• Proactive monitoring framework for O-RAN
• Verifies configuration state against policies
• Scalable oversight with low latency processing