White hat hackers put their skills to the test at Hack the Networks event in Otaniemi

White hat hackers, good or ethical hackers, will gather at Aalto University on 17-18 May for Hack the Networks event. In the hackathon, organised by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, challenge partners will prepare challenges for participants to solve in 24 hours. 5G hacking will focus on local private mobile networks and critical use cases.

Aalto University's Department of Information and Communication Technology will partner with PWC and Fortum in the challenge, and Aalto University will provide a 5G network for the challenge and network connectivity for other challenges.

A test network in research use enables hacking events

Aalto nextG network is a test network in research use, available to all Aaltonians and partners. It is a 5G network that has been deployed for years on the Otaniemi campus in the 3.5 GHz band for outdoor and some indoor use. In autumn 2023, the network was extended with outdoor base stations operating on 26 GHz. The network is still being expanded - indoor base stations are currently being built in the 4 GHz band, including in the Dipoli building where Hack the Networks will take place. Later, base stations will also be installed in other Aalto buildings.

'A fully self-managed test work in research use enables unique challenges. For example, at the CyberHack event in 2021, hackers had the opportunity to explore the core of the 5G network and look for vulnerabilities - an opportunity that is not possible in a normal operator network under any circumstances,' says Laboratory Engineer Markus Peuhkuri. 

Aalto's test network is a rarity, standing out from the crowd in terms of its scale and potential

Aalto nextG network is also very unique internationally. Other Finnish research institutes and universities also have their own test networks, as the spectrum regulator Traficom is very flexible in allocating spectrum for research use compared to international standards.

However, Aalto nextG stands out from the crowd. Aalto's environment is in a class of its own in terms of its scope and its ability to study and modify all parts of the network. All 5G network components, from radios to core network systems, are available both in a commercial "production" version and in a fully customisable part developed in Otaniemi.

'It's not just one network, but four logical networks. Each of these operates in several frequency bands. The network can be used to test a wide range of applications, starting with roaming,' says Peuhkuri.