“In 2021, 5G will bring boundless opportunity, both in introducing new ways to connect and elevating the standard for securing disparate infrastructure. Once 5G is widely available, the floodgates will open, and both the white hats and black hats of the world will experience a swift learning curve in navigating the mass distribution and interconnectivity of 5G. The profound speed and reach will connect businesses more than ever before, which translates to dangerous ripple effects of a successful attack.”

In 2021, 5G will revolutionise the security landscape. More devices will be brought online than ever before and we will see more convergence among IT and OT as the environments collide. To avoid creating an attacker’s advantage, the market will learn lessons from cloud adoption and embrace a shared risk responsibility. As data continuously flows through potentially vulnerable 5G infrastructure, this will be essential to build holistic security to close the exposure gap. In order to combat new and emerging threats, this will require both users and service providers to lock arms to prioritise security measures and build an ecosystem of trusted vendors.

With the shortage of cybersecurity talent coupled with the rise in global cyberattacks, the need for increased and enhanced cybersecurity education in our school systems is critical. The reality is that many vulnerabilities and, by extension, cyberattacks are a product of insecure code. The good news is that these attacks can be easily avoided if we simply invest in teaching secure code in schools and demand the use of secure code in all software development. It’s basic, but it works.”