Broader, More Disruptive, More Critical: Cyber Threats Morphing as 5G, Machine Learning, and IoT Emerge
By Steve Durbin
We’re already seeing commercials flaunting 5G coverage as the new wave of mainstream operational
speed as we know it. This paired with organizations flaunting their machine learning capabilities to more
accurately dictate a human’s preference is becoming the next-generation whether we’re ready for it or
not.
Vast webs of intelligent devices, combined with increased speeds, automation and digitization will create
possibilities for businesses and consumers that were previously out of reach. The Internet of Things (IoT)
will continue to develop at an astonishing rate, with sensors and cameras embedded into a range of
devices across critical infrastructure. The resulting nexus of complex digital connectivity will prove to be
a weakness as modern life becomes entirely dependent on connected technologies, amplifying existing
dangers and creating new ones.
Let’s take a quick look at a few of
the threats on the horizon and what
they mean for your organization:
5G Technologies Broaden Attack
Surfaces
The arrival of 5G, with significantly
faster speeds, increased capacity
and lower latency, will change
existing operating environments,
but at the expense of an
exponential growth of attack
surfaces. The 5G-enabled devices
and networks that underpin society
will be compromised by new and
traditional attacks, causing chaos and
plunging business into disarray.
The impacts of attacks on 5G technologies and infrastructure will be felt across a range of industries who
leverage 5G to become more operationally efficient or to automate and speed up processes. There will
be countless opportunities to attack 5G infrastructure, including billions of previously unconnected IoT
devices and new private networks. Millions of new 5G-enabled masts, built and operated by a plethora
of companies and governments to varying levels of assurance, will have new vulnerabilities exposed and
create new ingress points for attackers to exploit. The step change in available bandwidth will act as an
accelerator to existing attacks and amplify new ones, stretching organizational resilience to its maximum.