The coming of widespread 5G technology promises more than just faster everything, enhanced capacity and greater reliability. Leading proponents of the wonders of 5G, such as the theoretical physicist and author Michio Kaku, paint a picture of a true technological “paradigm shift, a game-changer.”

The self-described futurist invites us to imagine a lightning-fast global communications network that will fuel dramatic advancements in society’s productivity and ultimately “enrich and empower our lives.”

“Every once in a while there is this technology which changes the entire landscape,” he says in a video produced by wireless network operator T-Mobile. Much like the arrival of the Gutenberg printing press in the mid-1400s triggered “a Renaissance of knowledge,” he explains that 5G hold the promise to bring “connectedness … to the rest of the world” for millions of people who currently lack easy access to broadband technology.

Let’s hope he is correct. Because there is also no shortage of bright minds waving red flags about potential risks to health and online security. Many are warning that 5G also holds the power to enrich and empower high-speed malicious hackers, supercharging their ability to wreak untold havoc in the global cybercrime epidemic.

“One of the fundamental challenges of 5G involves balancing its far-reaching potential for human progress against the significant new security risks presented by this extraordinary technological breakthrough,” said cybersecurity expert Chuck Bane, academic director for the University of San Diego’s online Master of Science in Cyber Security Engineering program and retired naval officer whose experience includes collaboration on cybersecurity projects with the Department of Homeland Security, the NSA and the DoD.

What is 5G?

Remember when 4G promised to revolutionize data-based communication across the globe? That was so 2010. The “G,” of course, stands for “generation” — meaning that 5G is the next (Read more...)