As we begin 2020, the 5G rollout is well underway. Carriers are deploying 5G, or the fifth generation of mobile infrastructure, with significantly higher speeds and capabilities to enable the spread of IoT, which promises connectivity for billions of devices for industrial and personal use.
The 5G numbers impress: 5G will support around one million devices per square kilometer, compared with about 4,000 devices with 4G. With 5G, more than 36 billion devices are projected to be connected to the internet by the end of 2020. Latency will decrease to milliseconds: 5G will transfer more information with download speeds of up to 10Gbps.
5G Introduces New Challenges for Cybersecurity
“U.S. CEOs rank cyber security as their #1 external concern for 2019.” While 2020 research isn’t out yet, increasing attacks and high-profile breaches provide ample reasons for CEOs to continue to keep security top of mind.
As 5G enables widespread use of IoT, organizations will face more security challenges. According to Paul Bevan of Bloor Research, “Two of the major security issues at the moment are the lack of effective security being built into IoT devices themselves, and the existence of a large number of different standards frameworks.”
In industrial settings, the availability of inexpensive sensors has enabled organizations to retrofit existing machines with Internet connectivity. New machines, of course, have connectivity built in. This connectivity provides incredible opportunity for addressing manufacturing and supply chain issues proactively: a machine broadcasts its conditions data regularly, enabling predictive models to identify errors before they become a costly problem.
These machines are the “edge” – the far reaches of an intelligent, automated decision-making system that lowers costs and improves productivity. Increasingly, the decisions themselves will not need to be round-tripped as more decisions are made at the edge.
To realize this opportunity, sensors need to be optimized and cost-effective for widespread use. Unfortunately, these devices don’t necessarily prioritize security features, potentially exposing endpoints to attack.
The Data Privacy Challenge with the Quantified Individual
In 2020 consumers (aka your customers) will interact with more devices than ever. They may not be aware of all of the “off-line” data that they produce as they go about their daily lives:
- At home—many people are familiar with voice-assisted devices in the home; in addition, home security devices, locks and garage door openers, thermostats, TVs and electronics, coffee makers and other kitchen appliances, washers and dryers, vacuum cleaners, and lighting.
- On the way to work or in public spaces—the connected city movement includes traffic lights, security cameras, vehicles, public transportation, maintenance vehicles and trash bins, highway and railway infrastructure, drones for remote surveying and monitoring.
- About themselves—fitness trackers have spread from wrist devices to scales, blood pressure monitors, medicine dispensers, remote health devices, fitness equipment at the gym.
These lists are nowhere near complete.
So, what’s the big issue for data privacy? With all of these devices, the data on people’s lives will grow, and inevitably, your business will be able to gather a lot more information about customer activities. We’re entering an era of the “Quantified Individual” when we will know more about people from passive data collection. At the same time as new data privacy laws are being implemented, the challenge of protecting customer data becomes harder.
Update Your Data Privacy Stance for Your Big Data and Distributed Computing Infrastructure
Your organization can stay on top of data privacy trends, maintaining or enhancing a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with your customers. Specifically, a data privacy stance built for big data enables you to:
- Identify where and how personally identifiable customer data is generated
- Manage where this data is stored and how it is consumed
- Confidently and seamlessly provide a complete data record upon request
- Entirely erase personal data upon request
- Adhere to privacy laws across government jurisdictions
Learn more about how Syntelli can help.
