Is 5G Technology Dangerous? - Pros and Cons of 5G Network

Is 5G Technology Dangerous? - Pros and Cons of 5G Network

5G Definition

5G is a shorthand term that stands for the fifth generation of wireless cellular networks.

What is 5G?

The first four generations each brought a new level of connectivity, with 3G and 4G focused on improving mobile data. 5G seeks to continue this trend and expand its use for mobile broadband access. 5G will work alongside 4G, eventually replacing it entirely.

5G will usher in new tech advancement opportunities and innovation. Developing technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to grow with 5G. The upcoming upgrade from 4G to 5G concerns pretty much anyone using a cellular connection. So, it's wise to understand the cybersecurity 5G networking offers — and where it might be lacking.

How does 5G work?

To make the explanation simple, 5G transmits tons of data over shorter distances than 4G LTE. This helps speed and consistency of connection signals and the network itself — even when in motion. The network is also able to support more devices due to the use of new signal spectrums. On top of all of this, energy-efficient tech allows less power to be used.

Why 5G?

While 4G LTE is powerful, we are quickly outgrowing this network as we push it to its limits. Current LTE networks are becoming overloaded in major cities, with regular slowdowns occurring at busier times. The rise of internet-connected "smart" gadgets will mean that we need a faster, higher-capacity system to support the billions of devices already in existence. With these and other perks, mobile data becomes cheaper, less power-hungry, and quicker to connect way more devices than we can today.

What are some of the possibilities with 5G?

Better internet experiences are a direct result of this network. Beyond this, the fifth generation of mobile broadband will bring many benefits, most of which can be defined by the following:

Upgrading to a massive Internet of Things (IoT) will further tech-based growth for both industry and consumers. While many IoT devices are already in use, they are limited by the current internet framework. 5G means battery-powered devices can stay active and connected with fewer tune-ups, permitting new completely wireless uses in remote, inconvenient, or hard-to-reach areas. Everything from smart thermostats and speakers, to sensors in industrial cargo and city power grids, will have its role to play.

Smart cities and Industry 4.0 aim to give us more efficient, safer, productive work & lives. 5G-supported IoT is key to providing cities better infrastructure monitoring. It will also be used for smart automation in factories — dynamically shifting work processes.

What is the Difference Between 4G and 5G?

There are a few notable differences that allow 5G to do things 4G LTE cannot.

Compared to 4G LTE, 5G brings the following benefits:

• 5G is faster than 4G with more bits-per-second able to travel the network. With the new upload and download speeds, you could be downloading movies in seconds versus minutes.
• 5G is more responsive than 4G with lower latency, which refers to the time taken for device-to-network communications. Since devices can "talk" to the network faster, you'll get data more quickly.
• 5G uses less power than 4G since it can rapidly switch to low-energy use when cellular radios are not in use. This extends the device battery life to let devices stay unplugged for longer.
• 5G gives secure, fast service more reliably than 4G due to better use of bandwidth and more connection points. With less stress on the network, data costs can fall lower than 4G networks.
• 5G can carry more devices than 4G as it expands the available radio waves. Congestion issues that lead to slow service will be reduced once 5G steps in.

5G is a massive step forward for cellular. Similar to the legendary switch from wired dialup to high-speed broadband, we will rethink what mobile data can do.

That said, there is one major downside keeping 4G from being entirely replaced right now:

5G is hard to install and deploy. More transmitters are needed to cover the same area as current 4G networks. Providers are still working on placement for some of these “cells.” Some regions have physical challenges like protected historical sites or rough geography.

Slow rollout might seem negative for the future of 5G. However, the prolonged upgrade might end up giving providers time to address another big concern: security.

5G Security Concerns

5G cybersecurity needs some significant improvements to avoid growing risks of hacking. Some of the security worries result from the network itself, while others involve the devices connecting to 5G. But both aspects put consumers, governments, and businesses at risk.

When it comes to 5g and cybersecurity, here are a few of the main concerns:

Decentralized security. Pre-5G networks had less hardware traffic points-of-contact, which made it easier to do security checks and upkeep. 5G's dynamic software-based systems have far more traffic routing points. To be completely secure, all of these need to be monitored. Since this might prove difficult, any unsecured areas might compromise other parts of the network.

More bandwidth will strain current security monitoring. While existing networks are limited in speed and capacity, this has helped providers monitor security in real-time. So, the benefits of an expanded 5G network might hurt cybersecurity. The added speed and volume will challenge security teams to create new methods for stopping threats.

Many IoT devices are manufactured with a lack of security. Not all manufacturers are prioritizing cybersecurity, as seen with many low-end smart devices. 5G means more utility and potential for IoT. As more devices are encouraged to connect, billions of devices with varied security means billions of possible breach points. Smart TVs, door locks, refrigerators, speakers, and even minor devices like a thermometer for a fish tank can be a network weakness. A lack of security standards for IoT devices means network breaches and hacking might run rampant.

Lack of encryption early in the connection process reveals device info that can be used for device specific IoT targeted attacks. This information helps hackers know what devices are connected to the network. Details such as operating system and device type (smartphone, vehicle modem, etc.) can help hackers plan their attacks with more precision.

Cybersecurity vulnerabilities can take form in a wide variety of attacks. Some of the known cyberthreats include:

• Botnet attacks control a network of connected devices to puppeteer a massive cyberattack.
• Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) overload a network or website to take it offline.
• Man-in-the-Middle (MiTM) attacks quietly intercept and change communications between two parties.
• Location tracking and call interception can be done if someone knows even a small amount about broadcast paging protocols.

The Future of 5G and Cybersecurity

To stave off widespread weaknesses in national mobile networks, technology developers will have to be extra attentive to 5G security.

5G security foundations are needed in networks first. Network providers will begin focusing on software protections to cover the unique risks of 5G. They will need to collaborate with cybersecurity firms to develop encryption solutions, network monitoring, and more.

Manufacturers need an incentive to up their security efforts. 5G security is only as strong as its weakest links. But the costs of developing and implementing secure tech do not motivate all manufacturers to focus on cybersecurity. This is especially true in low-end products like kids' smartwatches and cheap smart baby monitors. If manufacturers receive benefits that offset their bottom-line losses, they may be more likely to boost their consumer protections.

Consumer education on IoT cybersecurity is necessary. The wide variation in security quality means product labeling standards will be needed. Because users have no way to easily know how safe IoT devices are, smart tech manufacturers might start to be held accountable with a label system. The FCC grades other forms of radio transmission, so the growing market of IoT devices may soon be included. Also, users need to be taught the importance of securing all internet devices with software updates.

Efforts to improve security are happening alongside the initial rollout of 5G. But because we need real-world results to refine the protections, work will continue long after 5G is deployed.

How You Should Prepare for 5G

5G is a bit further away than the buzz may have you believe, but you’ll still need to be prepared. Even though rollout will take a long time to be truly significant, some areas have seen upgrades start to pop up. Be sure to take security and privacy into your own hands as much as possible:

Install an anti-virus solution on all your devices. Products like Kaspersky Total Security will help prevent your devices from becoming infected.

Use a VPN to stop strangers from accessing your data without permission and spying on your online activity.

Practice strong password security. Always use passwords when available and make them incredibly strong. Long strings of random characters are considered the best passwords possible. Make sure you include uppercase, lowercase, symbols, and number as well.

Update the default backend passwords on all your IoT devices. Follow your device’s instructions on updating the “admin/password” style credentials of your gadgets. To find this information, consult with your manufacturer’s tech manuals or contact them directly.

Keep all your IoT devices updated with security patches. This includes your mobile phone, computers, all smart home devices, and even your car’s infotainment system. Remember, any device that connects to the internet, Bluetooth, or other data radio should have all the latest updates (apps, firmware, OS, etc.)

5G Networks Are Coming, But Here Are Three Reasons You Shouldn’t Wait to Upgrade

Starting in late 2020, U.S. wireless carriers will begin to repurpose older 3G CDMA and GSM networks. The 3G network sunset is part of carriers’ continued investment in 4G Long Term Evolution or LTE networks. For fleets with 3G-connected onboard equipment, this will require an upgrade to devices that leverage more current networks.

While LTE provides considerable improvements in terms of speed and coverage when compared with 3G, some wireless carriers are already beginning to tout their investment in 5G networks.

This leaves some 3G-connected fleets wondering why they should upgrade to LTE, when 5G is right around the corner. While 5G will provide significantly improved connectivity, even compared to LTE, there are few reasons why fleets shouldn’t wait to upgrade equipment.

#1: 3G Will Disappear Before 5G Becomes Viable

5G is in the same infancy LTE was years ago, with markets just now being announced and standards being set. Today, 5G-powered hardware and modems are also very sparse. With that being said, 3G CDMA networks will go dark before 5G coverage is widely available.

What’s more, transportation technology typically lags behind consumer platforms. While LTE started to become available for consumer devices years ago, onboard equipment did not begin to leverage LTE connectivity until a couple of years later, most notably in 2017 when Trimble became the first major fleet mobility provider to offer a connection to LTE.

We can expect a similar lag when it comes to 5G. Fleets should focus their attention on maintaining valuable connectivity with their drivers and vehicles in the wake of 3G shutdowns, instead of hoping to make a seamless move directly to 5G.

#2: LTE is Built to Last

Although 5G will become a reality, wireless carriers have and continue to make significant investments in LTE networks. While every network will eventually be sunset, wireless carriers have indicated that LTE will be fully viable until at least 2030.

Not only does that give fleets connectivity built to last, but it also gives them access to performance improvements compared to 3G. LTE has ten times the bandwidth of 3G networks, allowing for less latency and faster data transfer rates, leading to an improved in-cab experience for drivers.

LTE also has significantly better coverage when compared to 3G networks, even before the sunset. This can give your fleet and drivers a more robust geographical scope of coverage, helping you maintain connectivity wherever the road might take you.

#3: Access the Latest Innovations in Fleet Mobility

Making the switch to LTE isn’t just about avoiding degradation in coverage. Upgrading to LTE connectivity also opens your fleet up to cutting-edge fleet mobility technology.

Changing out onboard equipment gives your fleet the ability to also update the in-cab experience through the Android operating system. Android’s open platform can provide you with the opportunity to customize the user experience through a mix of proprietary and third-party apps to improve driver productivity and overall business performance.

Many of these latest solutions require the speed and robust bandwidth of LTE. By upgrading your connection, you will have the opportunity to harness these solutions to improve safety and efficiencies, while also achieving a faster return on your technology investment.

Stop global roll out of 5G networks until safety is confirmed, urges expert

Transmitter density means greater population exposure to high levels of radio frequency electromagnetic fields

We should err on the side of caution and stop the global roll out of 5G (fifth generation) telecoms networks until we are certain this technology is completely safe, urges an expert in an opinion piece published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

There are no health concerns about 5G and COVID-19, despite what conspiracy theorists have suggested.

But the transmitter density required for 5G means that more people will be exposed to radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs), and at levels that emerging evidence suggests, are potentially harmful to health, argues Professor John William Frank, Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh.

The advent of 5G technology has been hailed by governments and certain vested interests as transformative, promising clear economic and lifestyle benefits, through massively boosting wireless and mobile connectivity at home, work, school and in the community, he says.

But it has become the subject of fierce controversy, fuelled by four key areas of scientific uncertainty and concern.

• The lack of clarity about precisely what technology is included in 5G; and a growing but far from comprehensive body of laboratory research indicating the biologically disruptive potential of RF-EMFs
• An almost total lack (as yet) of high quality epidemiological studies of the impact on human health from 5G EMF exposure
• Mounting epidemiological evidence of such effects from previous generations of RF-EMF exposure at lower levels
• Persistent allegations that some national telecomms regulatory authorities haven’t based their RF-EMF safety policies on the latest science, amid potential conflicts of interest

5G uses much higher frequency (3 to 300GHz) radio waves than in the past and it makes use of very new—and relatively unevaluated, in terms of safety—supportive technology to enable this higher data transmission capacity, points out Professor Frank.

Its inherent fragility means that transmission boosting ‘cell’ antennae are generally required every 100–300 m—which is far more spatially dense than the transmission masts required for older 2G, 3G and 4G technology, using lower frequency waves, he says.

A dense transmission network is also required to achieve the ‘everywhere/anytime’ connectivity promised by 5G developers.

Existing 4G systems can service up to 4000 radio frequency-using devices per square kilometre; 5G systems will connect up to one million devices per square kilometre—greatly increasing the speed of data transfer (by a factor of 10) and the volume of data transmitted (by a factor of 1000), he explains.

While several major reviews of the existing evidence on the potential health harms of 5G have been published over the past decade, these have been of “varying scientific quality,” suggests Professor Frank.

And they have not stopped the clamour from “a growing number of engineers, scientists, and doctors internationally...calling on governments to raise their safety standards for RF-EMFs, commission more and better research, and hold off on further increases in public exposure, pending clearer evidence of safety,” he writes.

Permitted maximum safety limits for RF-EMF exposure vary considerably around the world, he points out.

What’s more, ‘5G systems’ is not a consistently defined term, comprising quite different specific technologies and components.

“It is highly likely that each of these many forms of transmission causes somewhat different biological effects—making sound, comprehensive and up-to-date research on those effects virtually impossible,” he explains.

Recent reviews of lab data on RF-EMFs indicate that exposures can produce wide-ranging effects, including reproductive, fetal, oncological, neuropsychiatric, skin, eye and immunological. But there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever to suggest that it is implicated in the spread of COVID-19, as some conspiracy theorists have suggested, he emphasises.

“There are knowledgeable commentators’ reports on the web debunking this theory, and no respectable scientist or publication has backed it,” he says, adding: “the theory that 5G and related EMFs have contributed to the pandemic is baseless.”

But for the current 5G roll-out, there’s a sound basis for invoking ‘the precautionary principle’ because of significant doubts about the safety of a new and potentially widespread human exposure, which should be reason enough “to call a moratorium on that exposure, pending adequate scientific investigation of its suspected adverse health effects,” he says.

There is no compelling public health or safety rationale for the rapid deployment of 5G, he insists. The main gains being promised are either economic, and then possibly for some more than for others, or related to increased consumer convenience, he suggests.

“Until we know more about what we are getting into, from a health and ecological point of view, those putative gains need to wait,” he concludes.