Insurer warns of 5G cyberattacks/failure risks

The advent of 5G technology could bring major disruption, especially in cyberattacks and cyber failures.

That’s the warning from Aon Cyber Solutions Group director Chris McLaughlin who says industry analysts believe about 20 billion connected devices will be around by 2020, including autonomous and connected vehicles.

5G will enhance mobile broadband, ultra-low latency networks, highly reliable services, and to facilitate Internet of Things (IoT) networks.

While 5G standards include several privacy safeguards, McLaughlin says a significant degree of risk associated with the technology remains.

“New vulnerabilities are being discovered in 5G protocols related to broadcasting and authentication that can be used for tracking user’s mobile activity, breaching privacy regulations.

“While 5G brings with it the promise of high-speed complex distributed systems, the greater their role in critical infrastructure, the greater the system risk and potential for cyber risk contagion – potentially magnifying the consequences of a cyberattack.”

McLaughlin suggests businesses and brokers ensure adequate plans are in place.

Securing devices which traditionally have limited capacity and low bandwidth but now have 5G connectivity will be a significant challenge, he says.

“Brokers should be helping their clients to understand and quantify their cyber risks and support them in developing appropriate strategies and mitigants.”

New Zealand has recently launched a cyber security strategy but the NZ Government has yet to implement one for artificial intelligence (AI) which has been done in about 10 other countries, including Australia, NZTech chief executive officer Graeme Muller says.

He says businesses need more guidance to develop their focus on critical technologies.

AI is also used in autonomous vehicles.