What is 5G Security?

5G network security is the act of protecting 5G wireless networks from data loss, interception, malware, hijacking, and other threats. As more companies move toward 5G technology to access faster connectivity, the need to protect these networks and mitigate against potential security implications is growing in importance.

Key Takeaways

• 5G is a Faster Digital Pathway: 5G is up to 100x faster than 4G, offering better upload and download times, reduced latency, and increased energy efficiency
• Enterprises Should Identify 5G Network Security Risks: 5G networks present security risks, like the loss of visibility, potential for misconfiguration, and the overwhelming of security teams as a company’s attack surface grows

Businesses Can Secure 5G Networks: By following leading strategies and practices, enterprises can safely use 5G network technologies

The Benefits and Use Cases of 5G Technology

5G network security is any technique, strategy, or technology that businesses use to protect 5G network infrastructure and its corresponding data.

Compared to 4G technology, 5G offers faster speeds, lower latency, higher density (allowing for more connections in the same area), and lower energy consumption. 5G network security identifies these potential issues and works to overcome them.

5G technology is a major step forward for businesses that need to enhance their use of digital services, optimize their processes, or simply need access to data more rapidly. Transforming existing architecture from 4G to 5G comes with a range of benefits:

• Improved Download and Upload Speeds: 5G is up to 100 times faster than 4G networks, representing a major improvement in user experiences, real-time data processing capabilities, and network accessibility
• Reduced Latency: 5G networks majorly decrease latency when compared to 4G networks, which expedites business communication and streamlines access to any digital application or site
• Enhanced Energy Efficiency: 5G networks support more devices per square kilometer, improving accessibility to high-powered network connectivity while doing so in a more energy-efficient manner and saving companies on their electricity bills
• Empowered IoT Devices: Internet of Things devices are any device that connects to the internet, ranging from your mobile phone or smart fridge to sensors in logistics trucks. The arrival of 5G networks provides IoT devices with stronger links to the internet, the ability to better communicate with cloud-based servers, and enhanced battery life, making them even more powerful solutions

5G technology is useful in any business that needs real-time services. From telemedicine calls to logistics companies with IoT monitoring devices, 5G technology is extremely adaptable.

The Importance of 5G Network Security: Challenges and Security Risks

When businesses can use 5G networks while mitigating the main security concerns, they’re able to reap the benefits of this high-powered network system without any of the drawbacks. 5G network security is essential when employing these systems and helps to improve the security posture of enterprises that use 5G.

Here are some of the main challenges and security risks of 5G infrastructure that businesses should prepare for:

• Expanding Attack Surfaces: While the ability to connect more devices in the same area is a benefit of 5G, this also means that businesses will have to contend with more entry points for attackers. Especially IoT devices, which notoriously have poor cybersecurity controls, can pose a threat to your organization
• Overwhelming Network Traffic: As more devices connect via 5G, every network will begin to be inundated by traffic and increased usage. Security teams that aren’t prepared for this shift will struggle to gain full visibility across their data
• Increasingly Complex Architecture: 5G network infrastructure relies on virtualization software to create network slices. Introducing these technologies creates additional areas to oversee for security engineers, where misconfigurations could lead to vulnerabilities

With effective management strategies, businesses can stay ahead of these potential challenges and mitigate the vast majority of 5G security threats.

5G Network Security Solutions

Here are some of the leading 5G network security strategies to protect against data hijacking, unauthorized access, and data exfiltration:

• Utilize MFA and Zero Trust Architecture: Multi-factor authentication and zero trust architecture both work to reduce the ability of a malicious actor to move within your system if they gain access. These technologies seek to verify the identity of a user every time they connect to your system, which is an essential part of keeping 5G networks as secure as possible and neutralizing threats as quickly as possible when they enter your system
• Utilize IoT Device Monitoring: One of the main areas where businesses are set to benefit from 5G networks is in the improvement of IoT devices. However, businesses should endeavor to gain full visibility over these devices, develop network segmentation practices, implement device authentication, and ensure that all devices are monitored by security teams to prevent unauthorized access
• Adopt Cloud-Native Tools: 5G network infrastructure uses a mixture of cloud-based and virtualization technologies to enhance connectivity. By implementing cloud-first security solutions that provide better visibility into and control over 5G networks, businesses can better understand and protect their attack surface
• Segment Your 5G Networks: Due to their use of virtualization technology, 5G networks are extremely adaptable and commonly broken into network slices. By further segmenting your network and reducing the ability for any unauthorized users to move laterally through your system, you prevent one small security event from becoming a much larger one
• Enhance Visibility Where Possible: The movement to 5G will likely expand the average business attack surface, meaning your security teams have more devices to manage and endpoints to survey. To streamline this process, businesses should seek to enhance visibility over their network, using AI and ML tools to automate device identification and monitoring

These 5G network security solutions actively combat the main security concerns of 5G architecture, allowing businesses to move to this innovative technology without worry.

The Complete Strategy to Secure 5G Networks

The significant increases in network capacity and decreases in latency that 5G offers arrive mainly as a result of its infrastructural changes. While allowing for performance improvements, the movement to virtualized software, distributed networks, and network slicing also greatly expands the attack surface of businesses that use these network systems.

In fact, the risk is so apparent that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published risk management strategies and systems businesses can use to securely implement 5G networks. While CISA details important steps like developing 5G policy, following best practices, and being aware of wider supply chain risks, there are other internal actions that businesses can take.

To better manage the risk of 5G networks and implement them while prioritizing security, be sure to:

• Monitor 5G Networks: Especially if your organization has built its own local 5G network, be sure to double-check admin configurations to avoid known vulnerabilities.
• Review Existing Infrastructure: Check for legacy vulnerabilities in your existing architecture, especially when using any 4G LTE networks that persist into your 5G equipment. Remove any vulnerabilities and update existing architecture to protect against common attack vectors.
• Partner with Interoperable Solutions: Some 5G networks do not connect to other technologies, severely limiting your ability to integrate with other products and solutions. Where possible, look to partner with 5G companies that offer full interoperability with other businesses.

By using these tips, you’ll be able to improve your 5G security at the network, architecture, and partner levels.