According to Gartner, global 5G wireless infrastructure revenue is expected to reach $4.2 billion in 2020 – an 89% increase from 2019 revenue of $2.2 billion. While widespread adoption of 5G is still a long way off, 5G trial services have already begun in Australia, Singapore and South Korea. However, before we look at the deployment of 5G, today’s 4G networks are still vulnerable to cyberattacks.
The largest 5G infrastructure projects will begin in the next 10 years, with few successful trials to date. Although 5G will continue to evolve alongside 4G networks, the 5G era is not yet upon us. In some APAC countries, 4G has only just been launched, so it will be some time before 5G networks are widely deployed. According to GSMA forecasts, 4G will still account for 68% of global mobile users by 2025 in this region. Many rural areas could still operate under LTE models, due to the longer range of 4G, compared to 5G’s mmWave.
If existing security risks are not addressed and reversed, mobile ISPs could be the first point of failure during a cyberattack, and vulnerabilities, such as unsecured IoT systems, could be amplified exponentially under 5G if not addressed in 4G.
New approaches to cybersecurity are needed, including adopting a proactive approach to security, increasing levels of security automation, and integrating security functions with APIs. We predict that 4G will continue to be a target for hackers as a potential gateway to 5G networks in the coming years.
In India, like previous generations of mobile technology, 5G is expected to have a significant impact on people’s lives. Benefits could include increased access and availability of more advanced healthcare and education, reduced pollution, increased efficiency in transportation, and improved capabilities to address public safety issues. For India to emerge as a global manufacturing hub, more collaborative efforts are needed to build a secure and scalable national 5G infrastructure. Currently, India has a strong 4G footprint, and it would be straightforward to leverage that base and launch 5G, as other markets have.
Lack of talent is not what you think!
Demand for cybersecurity will continue to outpace supply until there is a fundamental shift in mindset. Addressing this challenge will require two complementary approaches: embracing automation and seeking alternative sources of talent.
Automation will be a key element in the future of cybersecurity because human operators should not be required – and expected – to do everything. Instead, they should leverage skill sets that cannot be automated and focus on higher-order tasks, such as problem solving, communication, and collaboration. This will require a rethinking of the current security operations center (SOC) structure and a corresponding shift in the types of professionals needed for these new roles, in order to accurately identify and fill some of these gaps.
Today, the shortage of cyber talent is global and is affecting Indian organizations as well. Continuous innovations in automation, cloud services and artificial intelligence will ultimately help increase talent productivity. However, there is an urgent need to invest in strengthening the capabilities of the existing workforce and outsourcing specialized roles to cybersecurity experts .This presents a significant opportunity for India to fill the gaps by scaling up existing cybersecurity consulting or technology upgrade services teams.
Navigating the IoT will become a minefield for everyone.
In 2020, we will see the evolution of Internet security in two key areas: Personal and Industrial IoT. From connected cameras to doorbells to wireless speakers, we will see an increase in attack vectors that enter through insecure applications or weak login credentials.
For businesses, one area where we expect to see significant changes is industrialization, a key pillar of many Asian economies. Manufacturers are looking to deploy sensors, wearables, and automated systems as a way to streamline production, logistics, and workforce management through data collection and analytics. Organizations will need to ensure that these connected devices can leverage automated features, such as continuous vulnerability scanning and advanced analytics, to stay on top of threats.
Connected devices need to be constantly upgraded and updated to remain secure. There is also a growing trend among governments worldwide to issue guidelines or regulations related to the security of IoT devices. In addition, efforts are ongoing in industry standards groups to develop relevant security standards for IoT devices, such as the ISO/IEC 27037 standard. Both of these trends are certain to impact the growth of IoT devices. We also expect a prioritization of public education to accompany the rapid growth and adoption of connected devices.
Data privacy lines are becoming blurred.
The Internet Society’s 2018 APAC Policy Survey found that over 70% of respondents would like to have more control over the collection and use of their personal information. However, most people don’t think twice about granting access to popular apps, mobile gaming, or online competitions.
This is due to low awareness about cybersecurity and the fact that users become complacent, thinking that they will not be the victims.
We expect more data protection laws to emerge in the wider region. We expect more regulatory proposals to regulate or restrict cross-border data, particularly public sector information. In response, it is likely that companies will look to establish more data centers locally to better support customers in the market.
However, it is important to note that establishing local data centers does not necessarily mean more data. Individual end users or companies are increasingly connected and vulnerable to global incidents, as cyberattacks do not respect national borders. Businesses are still responsible for adopting a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that supports operations and information across the network , endpoints, and cloud. To effectively manage all of the above, companies should regularly assess the value of the information they collect and control access to it.
We predict that businesses will need to pay even more attention to their data flows in a highly interconnected region like ASEAN. Despite efforts to create a regionally harmonized approach to personal data protection – such as through the APEC Voluntary Cross-Border Data Protection Rules – there is no real harmonization. To create a framework that best serves the region, close collaboration between the private and public sectors is required, assessing the detection and identification of breaches in the face of ever-evolving threats.
The future of the cloud has arrived: Don't get confused amidst the turmoil.
While there is rationality in moving to the cloud, there is also a wariness around placing critical information there. Using appropriate network policies or firewalls , or both, can prevent internal resources from being exposed to the public internet. Additionally, investing in cloud security tools can alert organizations to risks within their existing cloud infrastructure.
Cloud security adoption comes with its own set of challenges. Ovum ’s Cloud Security Survey found that 80% of large organizations cite security and privacy as key challenges in cloud adoption.
