5G will require tougher security protocols
The arrival of 5G will enable many sectors, including automotive and healthcare, to leverage the IoT to deliver product and service innovations.
But how secure will they be?
5G will deliver faster networks and the development of intelligent networks that are increasingly decentralized and able to react to the needs of individual users.
The result?
This is a completely new way to manage access to data over multi-access edge networks securely.
These networks feature multiple cloud-based IT environments at the edge of a cellular network that allows mobile network operators to deliver services closer to their customers, reduce network congestion, and improve the performance of applications.
As 5G networks proliferate, the channels for potential attacks will also expand.
With 5G, the security landscape changes.
The move to edge data centers will require a different approach to security.
Virtualization heightens security needs.
A core component of the networks forming the foundation of 5G is open flexibility.
5G is not being built as a standalone radio network technology but rather as an open platform enabling digital transformation.
It does this by providing ubiquitous connectivity in converging licensed and unlicensed radio technologies such as LTE, NB-IoT, and Wi-Fi with its new high-speed cellular radio options.
Besides, functionality shifts from hardware to software.
This means that many of today's hardware servers will be replaced with virtual servers that can be thought of as building blocks that can be grouped to deliver specific services.
With more use of virtualization, in particular, security protocols will have to improve.
They must detect anomalies, stop malware, and include intelligent DNS to prevent incidents such as the Mirai botnet attacks last year.
With the IoT exponentially increasing the potential access points for malicious code to enter networks, IoT security becomes vital.
A multi-stakeholder approach to security
Clearly, the threat landscape is about to change radically.
The open and integrated nature of 5G requires a new kind of dynamic security that reacts second-to-second as users and devices access the network.
Mobile operators cannot afford to let security weaknesses undermine the compelling benefits of 5G and virtualized networks.
At Thales, we partner with a major industry player to provide actors deploying cloud-based virtualized networks with all the tools necessary to address the dangers posed by network disruption or data breaches in the next phase of our connected world.
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- Using AI to shape 5G
- Gemalto and Intel combine forces to secure 5G networks
- 5G in action: examples