5G security landscapes and the future for Ericsson

5G will connect industries in the future and will therefore require new service delivery models to offer network and communication services. The virtualisation technologies in reducing costs and optimising services will be paramount and so will be the availability of APIs to third-party service providers – they can optimise delivery using location awareness, content adaptation and caching.

To maintain a good level of privacy currently offered by 4G, 5G will require fresh involvement that will cater to the actions of commercial entities, individuals and will also focus on the protection of user metadata and communication, especially where big data analytics are involved. A multi-stakeholder approach involving operators, vendors, regulators, policy-makers, and representatives of 5G users are essential for ensuring cost-efficiency, trustworthiness, and security of 5G networks. Standards defined by industry bodies like ISO, IEC and the CSA will also help shape the role 5G aspires to play for enterprises, public safety, and industrial automation.

5G will require a number of new approaches, namely identity management, radio network security, flexible and scalable security architecture, energy efficient security and cloud security, all of which will create an evolved and trustworthy 5G security architecture. To prevent cyber-attacks that may act as “Trojan Horses”, devices will be required to comply with a wide range of security requirements and will have different security postures like industry automation control devices, climate monitoring sensors, tablets and smartphones.