5G adoption may have cybersecurity risks

MANILA, Philippines — While 5G adoption is expected to bring enterprises tons of benefits, the technology also comes with cybersecurity risks, according to global cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks.

“This is something that more enterprises will have to pay attention to in 2021. The sheer number of nodes that need to be installed makes the deployment of such networks that much more challenging, dramatically increasing the potential surface area for cyberattacks,” Palo Alto Networks said.

“Private sector infrastructure owners cannot afford to deploy the same approaches to designing and rolling out 5G networks, less they fall victim to the same types of attacks as they did in 3G and 4G,” it said.

Palo Alto Networks said while 5G networks may have been introduced in a few markets already, the availability of the iPhone 12 would see the mass adoption of 5G-enabled devices for the first time.

It said this would encourage the acceleration of 5G network rollouts as telcos seek to deploy new services for consumers and governments tap digital opportunities for economic recovery in 2021.

“In the Philippines, it’s a very exciting 5G with all operators, even the small ones, are actually saying that they will aggressively push for 5G next year,” Palo Alto Networks country manager for the Philippines Oscar Visaya said.

Visaya said that while 3G and 4G were mostly around broadband and mobile connection to consumers, 5G and its applications are going to be leveraged by critical infrastructures.

“In the past, 3G and 4G are largely around consumer internet access. But with 5G, it becomes a critical infrastructure for critical industries like hospital manufacturing and so on,” he said.

Visaya said Palo Alto Networks has been talking to the operators on how it can help them in securing the 5G network.

“There has been discussions since a year or two years ago and it’s an ongoing discussion and they know there is a need to secure 5G,” he said.

Palo Alto Networks said cybersecurity has been the top prerogative for boardroom leaders globally as companies across industries were forced to digitally transform this year.

The cybersecurity firm said it is pivotal for businesses to identify the countermeasures they must take to navigate the new normal in the longer term.

“With multiple cyberattack reports uncovered throughout the year, it is no doubt that these attacks, due to the impact of accelerated progression to digitalization, will continue to advance and leave many companies vulnerable,” it said.