Protecting Organizations From 5G Threats
The industry is buzzing about 5G technology and its potential. For example, almost every new smartphone is advertised as “5G compatible,” with the majority of mobile subscriptions switching to 5G over the next five years. With its promise of improved speed, reliability and connectivity, 5G offers a wealth of benefits.
The excitement globally connected communities feel about 5G is understandable, since connectivity drives companies’ daily operations and is part of everyone’s daily lives. But with all of the advantages of 5G come new threats to organizations.
Introducing New Cybersecurity Threats From 5G
5G technology will enable future IoT functions and interconnectivity of smart devices due to its enhanced reliability and connectivity. Since IoT is designed around ease of use, most of these devices are incapable of supporting strong security functions and are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks. And with an increasing number of 5G-compatible, connected unsecured IoT devices, there is a greater attack surface for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and other threats to target. It’s easy to see that less-secure devices connecting to networks open up a world of new possibilities for attackers.
In addition to DDoS, 5G connected devices create greater risks from any inbound volumetric attack. Since 5G technology increases our mobility, it allows seamless remote working in today’s work-from-anywhere environment. Organizations are now including outside suppliers and vendors in their network ecosystem, increasing their external connectivity. This presents an attractive opportunity for attackers, since infiltrating an individual’s device can open the door to the larger organization. With externally connected devices, attackers have more options to move malware across devices within a supply network of organizations.
The Telecommunications Industry is a Lucrative Target
While the telecommunications industry has invested significantly in cybersecurity over the years, it remains incredibly vulnerable to cyberattacks. This is because infiltrating telecommunications networks enables attackers to gain access to massive pipelines of data and confidential information, which is a very lucrative payday for attackers.
The service design and products from telecom companies are continuously innovating every year. While accommodating this rapid change, balancing priorities between security considerations and other key operations such as marketing and design can be challenging. Threat actors see this complexity as a potential vulnerability and consider the telecom industry a very appealing target.
Advanced Security is Required For 5G
Any company that deals with data and connectivity should consider cybersecurity a top priority. Good security hygiene should be implemented at every stage of a product’s life cycle from development to distribution. Cybersecurity is an ongoing process, rather than a one-time implementation, and organizations need to provide frequent security updates to protect their networks and products against new advanced threats. When companies ignore security requirements in favor of speed, attackers are at the ready with new malware and intrusion technologies to pounce on these unsecured networks.
Innovation is needed to drive business, but it should never come at the expense of security. When implementing 5G technology, companies should ensure they do thorough security testing. The 5G space is still evolving and the full extent of vulnerabilities introduced by this technology is still unknown. Organizations need to continue with advanced security frameworks when implementing 5G technology; otherwise, threat actors will always have the upper hand.
The truth is that cybercriminals these days need only a small window of opportunity. They have access to malware that needs little to no dwell time. Leaving an opening for threat actors can cost companies significantly. With the increased interconnectivity enabled by 5G, CISOs and security teams can do only so much in terms of real-time threat assessment. So, companies must shift toward automated solutions that monitor interconnected networks continuously in real-time.
SASE Delivers Security and Optimal Networking Performance for 5G
Secure access service edge (SASE) enables organizations to strike a balance between increased security measures and efficient 5G network performance. SASE delivers a stronger integration between security and networking functions because it is designed to maintain network performance while security functions are implemented. To address risk, it establishes and maintains consistent security policies across all 5G devices, leverages zero-trust access, implements network segmentation to mitigate malware movements and quarantines threats from entering every layer of a network.
As a solution, SASE can help organizations address a wide range of security use cases, particularly by identifying, classifying and segmenting unfiltered traffic. With 5G, it is clear that interconnected network traffic will increase exponentially. SASE is an established approach to monitoring that traffic and keeping your organization protected while not interrupting your business performance.
