Research shows that a large majority of surveyed companies are using private 5G networks. However, their security is lagging behind.
A study by Trend Micro and CTOne indicates that private 5G networks are being deployed more frequently, but security measures are falling short. Especially a lack of expertise in communication technology makes these networks vulnerable to cyber threats.
Private 5G Growing
Private 5G networks are becoming increasingly popular in sectors such as energy, defense, logistics, healthcare, and smart manufacturing. The research shows that 86 percent of surveyed organizations are already using private 5G, while fourteen percent are still evaluating the technology. Despite this growth, security remains a challenge.
Many organizations are implementing AI-based security tools to detect and combat threats. 62 percent indicate they are using AI solutions, while 35 percent plan to do so in the future. The main AI-driven security measures according to respondents are predictive threat intelligence (58%), continuous adaptive authentication (52%), Zero Trust policy (47%), and self-healing networks with AI automation (41%).
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However, organizations face obstacles when implementing AI security in their 5G networks. High costs (47%), false positive and false negative detections (44%), and a lack of internal expertise (37%) are the most cited problems. Moreover, only 20 percent of companies have a specialized team for securing their communication networks. In most cases, the responsibility lies with the CTO (43%) or CIO (32%).
Security Budget
Although private 5G networks support critical infrastructure and sensitive data, on average only eighteen percent of the security budget is allocated to them. This can lead to compliance and cyber risks, especially with AI-driven network monitoring. Less than half of the respondents say they take measures such as data anonymization (44%) or strict access controls for AI models (50%). Encryption of data at rest and in transit (51%) and compliance with regulations such as GDPR (54%) are also not always guaranteed.