5G – a platform for innovation, which will not only improve today’s mobile broadcast technologies, but also expand mobile networks to support a large diversity of devices, with enhanced performance, and of course, cost. This mobile technology is expected to change the way we communicate and stream video. Nevertheless, along with opportunities, this ultra-fast technology poses its own security concerns, that these networks are more vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

The problem is not the security of 5G itself, rather experts claim that any devices which are known as IoT (Internet of Things) that are connected by 5G would potentially lack sufficient security. According to the global research company, Gartner, the number of internet-connected devices will hike up to 25 billion by 2021.

The items and devices that connect to 5G, present easily accessible options for hackers. The interesting fact is that hackers normally tend to target new technologies, because of the fact that the security solutions regarding this technology are not fully agreed yet. That is actually a strong example of vulnerability, and due to weak security hackers can scan thousands of devices in a matter of minutes.

In 2016, “The Mirai Botnet” (DDoS attack) has disrupted the internet, and that attack is considered to be the largest of its kind so far. As a result, it infected nearly 65,000 devices in its first 20 hours. This event signaled the cyber insecurity of IoT devices, meaning that when criminals attack IoT devices, they can access even personal data, which takes less time than before.

It is not only mobile devices that connect to 5G, but there are also homes using 5G, which, unfortunately, are also vulnerable. Experts say that cyber-attacks can affect AI (Artificial Intelligence) powered items, which are capable of bringing down a whole mobile network.

Nowadays, companies, telecoms, and governments are intensively working on security standards for 5G technologies. Although 5G will revolutionize digital transformation, it opens more doors to “threat actors” or so-called criminals, and therefore, the concerns are likely to increase.