Rome-based cybersecurity firm SecurityGen announced a new lab to aid mobile network operator (MNO) security teams in learning more about 5G network protection.

The lab provides “a training platform for MNO security teams to explore and expand their knowledge of 5G and the range of threat vectors associated with it" and to "test and validate solutions and techniques to ensure the safe and secure rollout of 5G networks and use cases,” the firm noted in a press release.

The cybersecurity company has previously advised operators to upgrade their network defenses; now the lab looks to take a more direct approach to the work.

“What makes 5G robust and flexible can also make it exposed and vulnerable to hidden threats," Dmitry Kurbatov, co-founder and CTO of SecurityGen, told SDxCentral. "The challenge is to maximize 5G’s positive features and at the same time weather the storm of cyberattacks without dramatic negative impact.”

Kurbatov said it’s important to note the types of pandemic-related cyberattacks.

“The number of scams such as phishing to compromise remote workers, get access into corporate systems, and steal or encrypt data demanding a ransom be paid to return it have risen and grabbed the headlines,” he explained.

This particular strain of attack is “like the flu,” according to Kurbatov. "It hits you immediately. … And this is precisely the concern when it comes to 5G since it is an incredibly complex system that is highly integrated with a wide range of other information technologies.”

Despite this threat, “there is no consensus and no clear guidelines and instructions on how to build cyberresilient 5G," he said, adding he believes two main considerations need to be made to boost telecom cybersecurity.

“First is obviously the protection of telecom infrastructure itself,” Kurbatov noted. “5G architecture is designed with the wide adoption of IT technologies including virtualization, edge computing, [and] usage of public clouds in mind ... invariably there will be some issues with software or mistakes in configurations that bad actors can exploit. This creates new problems that security teams within telecom operators need to be able to deal with.”

Additionally, 5G needs to deliver security from a subscriber standpoint, Kurbatov claims, whether it be an individual or an enterprise subscriber.

“Ensuring secure 5G is therefore an opportunity for operators to add meaningful extra value and facilitate wider adoption of 5G-based features and use cases to consumers and business customers alike,” he added.

While organizations like SecurityGen look to aid the telecom industry in better securing 5G networks today, groups are also forming to protect telcos and their user bases from the projected dangers of quantum computing.

IBM VP and Fellow Ray Harishankar told SDxCentral during this year's MWC Las Vegas event that the expanding demand for 5G and ubiquitous connection following the pandemic has made the telecom industry critical in developing progressive safety protocols. “Telco, in my view, is the underpinning connectivity network for any organization," he said.

IBM recently united with telecom operator Vodafone on quantum computer security. “Future quantum computers will pose a threat to today’s standard security, such as public key encryption," IBM stated in the press release. "Vodafone’s exploration of these protocols marks an IBM Quantum Safe first in understanding and preparing for this risk in telecommunications."

With hackers taking a “harvest now, decrypt later” approach, the threat is very real today, Harishankar noted in Las Vegas.

“You may say, okay, so what if it’s still 10 to 20 years away? Why worry about it now? Because what bad actors can do today is download the information. Regardless of whether I’m able to decrypt it or not, I’ll download it and keep it, and then maybe 15 to 20 years later, I’ll crack it and see what goodies I have in my [bag],” he remarked in laughter tinged with foreboding.