Mobile connectivity is already being transformed and improved by 5G. Thanks to low latency and high speeds, almost all organizations and businesses can now automate services and applications they could not imagine a few years ago. Millions of gadgets and IoT (internet of things) are interconnected with 5G technology, enabling use scenarios such as AR/VR on mobile channels, intelligent cities, remote healthcare, and more. The possibilities are nearly limitless.
Unfortunately, the immense potential and near-unlimited connectivity pose numerous security concerns. For your 5G-ready success, you’ll need to have strong security expertise.
What threats does 5G pose? What are security features included? And, in your 5G safety plan, what function should managed applications play?
5G Technology Architecture and Security
Because the technology is still new and growing, the term “5G security” does not yet have an official definition. But this isn’t to suggest that 5G security isn’t a concern. In reality, one of the essential factors in the design and development of 5G was security.
When it pertains to 5G security, we must consider it a delicate balancing effort. On the one side, protection design in 5G from the start. But, a tidal surge of new gadgets and connectivity will make monitoring security much more complex, in addition to more incredible speed and bandwidth.
5G was designed from the fundamentals to assure connection stability. Five fundamental aspects of 5G security in an Ericsson white paper: communication security, resilience, security assurance, identity management, and privacy. 5G’s reliability, as per the document, is enabled by a range of security capabilities developed using system design guidelines and a risk-based attitude.
The context of this article does not allow for a deep dive into the technical specifics of the 5G security design. The purpose of network segmentation, on the other hand, stands out and deserves to be emphasized here.
Thanks to network slicing, different services, and networks can use the same technology but be segregated and isolated. Network slicing separates (or slices) certain classes of network traffic to meet the needs of different use cases, such as consumer, enterprise, public safety, and internet of things.
Because it uses network slicing, virtualization, cloud-based services, and other upcoming developments, 5G’s security design provides considerable efficiency gains and a wide range of applications. However, it would be best to handle new security concerns and threats due to these changes and additions.
5G Security Threats
Increased attack ground:Â
Because 5G connects millions, if not billions, more devices, it allows for more significant and deadly attacks. The present internet infrastructure is merely amplifying future and current weaknesses. With 5G, the potential of more advanced privacy breaches, botnets, and speedier information extraction could increase.
More IoT, More Issues:Â
IoT equipment is fundamentally unsafe, and security isn’t always built-in. Each unsecured IoT device equipment in a company’s network is another possible security flaw that a hacker might exploit.
Reduced Network Visibility:Â
As 5G networks spread, mobile devices and users will become more accessible. This extensive accessibility implies significantly more network activity to handle. Organizations may not get the internet traffic visibility needed to spot irregularities or threats without a comprehensive vast area network (WAN) safety solution in place, such as SASE.
High Software Vulnerabilities and Supply Chain:
5G supply chains are present and soon constrained. Exposure increases the risk of insecure and faulty parts as products hurry to market. 5G is considerably more software-dependent than existing mobile networks, increasing the danger of network infrastructure attacks.
Security Improvements:
In addition to network slicing, 5G has many substantial security improvements over its predecessors, such as 4G and LTE. Businesses can benefit from these advancements in a variety of ways. We’ll go over the most significant changes and how they can help your company.
First, 5G is better at securing your personal information. Your network protects against malicious devices that imitate mobile towers to intercept phone calls for the first time. 5G protects your identity by encrypting it.
Additionally, as your speech and data go from your phone to the cell tower, the communication is scrambled using a more robust encryption method. This encryption means that attackers with powerful computers will be less interested in decoding your data.
More advanced programs and “virtual” hardware are also possible with 5G. Your data can transmits via virtual switches and hubs that can be moved or modified if needed, rather than specialized hardware that attackers could hack.
Finally, there is edge computing, which is concerned with the location of data processing. Data may have to travel transmitted to a distant server when using cloud or traditional computing. It’s handled significantly near the source with the edge, allowing for better attack detection.
You will be able to complete the following with these improvements:
- Offer mobile users secure internet connectivity so they may do business from wherever.
- Allow remote/branch sites to do business securely and quickly outside the business office.
- Using deep knowledge enhances protection against advanced mobile risks.
- Network solution installations enable safe access to apps and reliable user security.
- Implement network options securely and quickly, enable secure app access, and enable reliable user experiences
- Boost efficiency by offering secure internet connectivity on mobile devices and providing quick response skills in the case of a cyberattack.
Should Your Organization Embrace Managing Security Services for 5G?
Among the most compelling reasons to adopt 5G is to increase your company’s innovation to obtain a competitive advantage and generate revenue growth. However, how can this be accomplished without jeopardizing security?
If 5G considers being a crucial part of your company’s innovation strategy, you’ll need to implement it properly and safely.
Handling the transition to 5G may be difficult based on the tools available to your organization.
In many circumstances, using managed security services to assist your 5G strategy — such as safe remote access solutions, next-generation firewalls, secure web gateways, and broader SASE capabilities — is the best cost-effective alternative. You may engage with specialists to develop and best exploit 5G technologies to their most considerable capacity and safeguard the flow of critical information from being compromised with managed security services.
In the end, this implies that your company can scale and design solutions with the utmost ease and minimal risk.
