As well as unlocking vast potential, the 5G rollout will introduce significant new risks, meaning the risk profile of companies using or providing 5G goods and services will change. Businesses will have to adapt to an ongoing technological revolution which presents many unknowns. Unforeseen consequences, real or perceived, are a hazard – as was seen in January 2022, when concerns over the effects of 5G technology on aviation systems disrupted airlines in the US, or in April 2020, when conspiracy theorists in the UK vandalized phone masts in the mistaken belief they were linked to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Unlike previous generations, the 5G network will be a software defined network and ‘virtualized’, meaning many functions that once relied on hardware will now be virtual software capabilities, with attendant software-related security issues. As the amount of interconnected devices, networks, services, and mobile data increases, so will the potential attack surface.
The interconnected nature of the 5G network, with its infrastructure, service providers and users, also magnifies the issue of supply chain security and business interruption losses should…
