A half-day workshop exploring security, privacy, and trust frameworks for the 6G era
in conjunction with 22nd International Conference on Network and Service Management
Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), Spain // 26 - 30 October, 2026
The advent of the 6G era introduces unprecedented security and trust challenges as networks evolve into highly distributed, AI-native, and multi-stakeholder ecosystems. Ensuring end-to-end security, privacy, and trustworthiness across the 6G architecture - spanning the radio access, core, and edge-cloud continuum - demands fundamentally new approaches.
This workshop offers a platform for researchers, practitioners, and industry experts to explore innovative security architectures, trust frameworks, and privacy-preserving mechanisms tailored to the 6G context. Topics include physical-layer security, zero-trust architectures, AI-driven threat detection, post-quantum cryptography, identity management, decentralized trust mechanisms, and regulatory compliance for 6G networks.
Researchers and engineers from academia and industry are invited to submit their recent results and innovations related to next-generation 6G security and trust. The list of topics includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Zero-trust security architectures and continuous verification frameworks for 6G
AI/ML-based security management, threat detection, and autonomous policy enforcement in 6G
Privacy-preserving and federated learning approaches for 6G security
Blockchain and DLT-enabled decentralized trust, accountability, and auditability in 6G
Post-quantum and quantum-resistant cryptographic protocols for 6G networks
Physical-layer security techniques and secure transmission in 6G
Decentralized identity, SSI, and DID frameworks for 6G authentication and authorization
Security of network slicing, virtualization, and multi-tenant 6G environments
Open RAN and cloud-native 6G security architectures
Trust and security management for massive IoT and cyber-physical systems in 6G
Resilience, fault tolerance, and attack-recovery mechanisms in 6G
Case studies, testbeds, and experimental platforms for 6G security research
We invite original and unpublished research contributions addressing the theoretical foundations, system architectures, practical implementations, and novel applications of security and trust in 6G networks.
Workshop papers submission deadline: August 14, 2026
Notification of acceptance: September 11, 2026
Camera ready deadline: September 18, 2026
Authors are invited to submit original contributions that have not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Papers should be prepared using the IEEE 2-column conference style and are limited to 9 pages including references (full papers) or 5 pages including references (short papers).
Papers must be submitted electronically in PDF format through the EDAS system at this link: https://edas.info/newPaper.php?c=35577
In the 6G era, security and trust will be among the most critical pillars of the telecommunications industry. With the increasing complexity of networks, the proliferation of connected devices, and the integration of AI-native and cloud-native technologies, ensuring robust and end-to-end security becomes paramount. Traditional perimeter-based or centralized security models are no longer sufficient for the highly distributed and dynamic nature of 6G networks. Zero-trust architectures, AI-driven threat detection, and autonomous policy enforcement are emerging as essential paradigms.
As 6G environments become increasingly heterogeneous, AI-driven, and multi-tenant - supporting verticals such as autonomous systems, smart cities, digital healthcare, and industrial IoT - the attack surface expands dramatically. Key motivating challenges include: end-to-end security across radio, core, and edge-cloud domains; trustworthy AI/ML systems resilient to adversarial attacks; managing billions of heterogeneous devices with diverse security capabilities; and compliance with evolving privacy and data-sovereignty regulations.
Zero-trust architectures and continuous authentication for 6G networks
AI/ML-driven threat detection, intrusion prevention, and autonomous security policy enforcement
Post-quantum cryptography and quantum-safe protocols for 6G
Physical-layer security and secure waveform design in 6G
Privacy-preserving machine learning (federated learning, differential privacy) for 6G
Decentralized identity management: self-sovereign identity (SSI) and decentralized identifiers (DIDs)
Blockchain and DLT for trust, accountability, and verifiable interactions in 6G
Security of Open RAN, cloud-native, and disaggregated 6G architectures
Network slicing security, isolation, and multi-tenant trust management
Security frameworks for massive IoT, autonomous systems, and critical infrastructure in 6G
Regulatory compliance, data sovereignty, and ethical AI in 6G security
Testbeds, simulations, and real-world deployments for 6G security evaluation
Dr. Engin Zeydan - Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC), Spain
Dr. Madhusanka Liyanage - University College Dublin, Ireland (madhusanka@ucd.ie)
Dr. Suayb Arslan - Bogazici University, Türkiye & Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA (suayb.arslan@bogazici.edu.tr, sarslan@mit.edu)
Dr. Dilum Bandara - Data61, CSIRO, Australia (dilum.bandara@data61.csiro.au)
Prof. An Braeken - Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium (an.braeken@vub.ac.be)
Prof. Andrei Gurtov, Linköping University, Sweden
Prof. Salil Kanhere, University of New South Wales, Australia
Prof. John Murphy, University College Dublin, Ireland
Prof. Raja Jurdak, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Prof. Bhaskar Krishnamachari, University of Southern California, USA
Dr. Long Cheng, Dublin City University, Ireland
Dr. Luis Blanco, Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya, Spain
Dr. Pawani Porambage, VTT, Finland
Dr. Abdullah Aydeger, Florida Institute of Technology, USA
Mr. Tharaka Mawanane Hewa, University of Oulu, Finland
Prof. Jin Wei, University of Akron, USA
Prof. Gihan Dias, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
Prof. Nur Zincir-Heywood, Dalhousie University, Canada
Prof. Nuno Garcia, University of Beira Interior, Portugal
Prof. Mika Ylianttila, University of Oulu, Finland
Prof. Mangal Sain, Dongseo University, South Korea
Prof. Lee Hoon Jae, Dongseo University, Republic of Korea
Prof. John Murphy, University College Dublin, Ireland
Prof. Ioanis Nikolaidis, University of Alberta, Canada
Prof. Hossam S. Hassanein, Queen's University, Canada
Prof. Damla Turgut, University of Central Florida, USA
Prof. Andrei Gurtov, Linköping University, Sweden
Prof. Anca Delia Jurcut, University College Dublin, Ireland
Prof. Kris Steenhaut, VUB, Belgium
Dr. Arsham Farshad, Lancaster University, UK
Dr. Chamitha De Alwis, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
Dr. Edgardo Montes de Oca, Montimage, France
Dr. Erkki Harjula, University of Oulu, Finland
Dr. Guillaume Jourjon, Data61-CSIRO, Australia
Dr. Josep Mangues, CTTC, Spain
Dr. Katrin Reitsma, Motorola Solutions, USA
Dr. Silke Holtmanns, Nokia Bell Labs, Finland
Dr. Simone Soderi, Alstom, Italy
Dr. Suranga Seneviratne, University of Sydney, Australia
Dr. Tang Qiang, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Luxembourg
Dr. Truong Khoa Phan, University College London, UK
Jan Janak, Columbia University, USA
Dr. Jyrki Huusko, VTT, Finland
Mr. Martti Ylikoski, Nokia, Finland
Dr. Pawani Porambage, University of Oulu, Finland
Dr. Pradeep Kumar, Swansea University, UK
Dr. Engin Zeydan is a Senior Researcher in the Communication Networks Division at the Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC) in Barcelona, Spain. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA, in 2011, and his M.S. and B.S. from Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. Before joining CTTC in 2018, he worked as an R&D Engineer at Avea (a Turkish mobile operator) and as a Senior R&D Engineer at Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş., alongside a part-time instructor role at Özyeğin University. He has led or contributed to numerous European projects, including H2020 MonB5G (Project Coordinator, 2021–2023), 5Growth, Clear5G, MOTO, and CROWD. He is co-author of 110+ papers in international journals and conferences and holds 10 granted patents. In 2022, he received the Docent degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Presidency of the Council of Higher Education, Türkiye, and led an ETSI ZSM proof-of-concept on zero-touch security management. His research interests are in telecommunications and data engineering/science.
Dr. Madhusanka Liyanage received his Ph.D. in Communication Engineering from the University of Oulu, Finland. He is currently an Assistant Professor/Ad Astra Fellow and Director of Graduate Research at the School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Ireland, and holds Docent/Adjunct Professor positions at the University of Oulu (Finland), University of Ruhuna (Sri Lanka), and University of Sri Jayewardenepura (Sri Lanka). He has held visiting research positions at CSIRO (Australia), Lancaster University (UK), UNSW and University of Sydney (Australia), Sorbonne University (France), and the University of Oxford (UK). He is a Senior Member of IEEE and received the 2020 IEEE ComSoc Outstanding Young Researcher Award, was ranked among the World's Top 2% Scientists (2020/2021, Elsevier/Stanford list), and received the 2022 Tom Brazil Excellence in Research Award from SFI CONNECT Centre, among other honors. He has co-authored 150+ publications, including three authored books and four edited books with Wiley, and two patents, securing over €5 million in research funding. He currently serves as PI for two large EU H2020/Horizon Europe projects. His research interests include the security of 5G/6G, blockchain, and AI systems. URL: http://madhusanka.com
Prof. Suayb Arslan earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UC San Diego, and his B.S. from Bogazici University. He has industry experience at Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs and Quantum Corporation, and has held visiting positions at the University of Nantes, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and MIT, where he remains a research affiliate. He currently serves as a professor and institute director at Bogazici University, with over 90 publications and 40+ patents. He is an Associate Editor for the Elsevier IoT Journal.
Dr. Dilum Bandara is a Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO's Data61 and Conjoint Senior Lecturer at UNSW. He has worked on blockchain data management, software architecture, and security since 2017, with over 60 peer-reviewed publications and 15+ years of R&D and consultancy experience. He earned his B.Sc. from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, and his M.S./Ph.D. from Colorado State University.
Prof. An Braeken received her MSc in Mathematics (2002) and PhD in Engineering Sciences (2006) from KU Leuven/University of Gent. She has been a professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel since 2007, with research interests spanning security and privacy protocols for IoT, cloud/fog computing, blockchain, and 5G/6G security. She is the (co-)author of over 200 publications.