{"id":7832,"date":"2020-03-24T15:20:52","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T15:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/technologies\/security\/gsma_resources\/fs-33-network-function-virtualisation-nfv-threats-analysis\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T11:46:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T10:46:45","slug":"fs-33-network-function-virtualisation-nfv-threats-analysis","status":"publish","type":"gsma_theme_resources","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/technologies\/security\/gsma_resources\/fs-33-network-function-virtualisation-nfv-threats-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"FS.33 Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) Threats Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This document aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the threats related to NFV and the underlying infrastructure and platforms hosting the NFV. The virtualization of network functions can be realized in several different ways and to varying degrees. A Virtualised Network Function (VNF) can be a complex virtual appliance running a complete operating system populated with several applications. It may have multiple layers of interaction and functionality and, in some instances, it may even have specific hardware requirements. A VNF can also be an isolated singular function running on a thin container-based kernel and have very limited interaction with its surrounding network entities. Containers, while being streamlined and generally smaller than more traditional virtual machines are exposed to the same NFV environment and suffer from the same vulnerabilities. In this document they are therefore treated as virtual machines and covered by the same risks and mitigation techniques if nothing else is stated in the risk or mitigation description itself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Audience<\/strong>:&nbsp; Technical security practitioner<\/p>\n<p><strong>Resource technology specifics:<\/strong> Network function virtualisation (NFV)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Resource type:<\/strong>&nbsp;Guideline<\/p>\n<p><strong>Resource enforcement:<\/strong>&nbsp;Voluntary<\/p>\n<p><strong>Resource certification type:<\/strong>&nbsp;Self-assessment<\/p>\n<table width=\"822\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"960\"><strong>Key benefits<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"960\">\n<ul>\n<li>Outlines threats and vulnerabilities found within NFV<\/li>\n<li>Outlines potential migrations to identified threats<\/li>\n<li>Compiled by experts managing NFV for mobile operators<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This document aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the threats related to NFV and the underlying infrastructure and platforms hosting the NFV. The virtualization of network functions can be realized in several different ways and to varying degrees. A Virtualised Network Function (VNF) can be a complex virtual appliance running a complete operating system [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"image":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/technologies\/security\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Capture-1.png","json":{"gsma_resources_type":"Document","gsma_resources_thumb":"[1060]","gsma_resources_file":"[]","gsma_resources_multi":null,"gsma_resources_wgr":null,"gsma_resources_video":null,"gsma_resources_image":"[]","gsma_resources_url":"https:\/\/membergateway.sharepoint.com\/sites\/OfficialDocuments\/Shared%20Documents\/Forms\/AllItems.aspx?FilterField1=Publishing%5Fx0020%5FGroup&FilterValue1=FASG&FilterType1=TaxonomyFieldTypeMulti&viewid=7c4a0022%2D6ab1%2D435b%2D95e8%2D38811b6eff70","gsma_resources_date":"06-03-2020","gsma_resources_button":"Download"}},"tags":[],"resource_categories":[502,503,1582,504,1576],"algolia_discover_type":[1553],"class_list":["post-7832","gsma_theme_resources","type-gsma_theme_resources","status-publish","hentry","resource_categories-deployment-phase","resource_categories-design-and-development-phase","resource_categories-mobile-cybersecurity-knowledge-base","resource_categories-operational-phase","resource_categories-technical-guidelines","algolia_discover_type-resource"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>FS.33 Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) Threats Analysis - Security<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/technologies\/security\/gsma_resources\/fs-33-network-function-virtualisation-nfv-threats-analysis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FS.33 Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) Threats Analysis - Security\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This document aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the threats related to NFV and the underlying infrastructure and platforms hosting the NFV. The virtualization of network functions can be realized in several different ways and to varying degrees. A Virtualised Network Function (VNF) can be a complex virtual appliance running a complete operating system [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/technologies\/security\/gsma_resources\/fs-33-network-function-virtualisation-nfv-threats-analysis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Security\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-09T10:46:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"FS.33 Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) Threats Analysis - Security","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/technologies\/security\/gsma_resources\/fs-33-network-function-virtualisation-nfv-threats-analysis\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"FS.33 Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) Threats Analysis - Security","og_description":"This document aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the threats related to NFV and the underlying infrastructure and platforms hosting the NFV. 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