Two concerns regarding next-generation network capacity are cybersecurity and speed of deployment.
Federal agencies highlighted cybersecurity as a key concern when deploying 5G infrastructure at the 2023 Law Enforcement and Public Safety (LEAPS) Technology Forum held last week.
“We all know that 5G offers many opportunities in terms of innovation, efficiency, and economic growth. But all of this comes with significant risks,” said Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ) Emergency Communications Chief of Staff Zachary Smith said during the event.
5G infrastructure handles higher data loads, making it an attractive target for malicious cyber attackers.
“Working with stakeholders, working with private industry, working with federal partners, working with public safety, states and localities, tribes and territories to identify and analyze 5G risks to national security and the public. We are working on the final priority: safety,” Smith said.
Infrastructure should be built with security in mind, not an afterthought. “Once we work with these shareholders and understand the risks and challenges they face, we will ultimately be able to develop more We provide excellent technical assistance, to make the implementation work more effectively,” Smith said.
But as 5G deployment continues to expand, agencies are focused on continuing to respond without compromising mission integrity.
“You can’t deploy it faster than the commercial industry. That’s not how the government works,” Matthew Feinberg, chief of the FBI’s body-worn camera program, said at the event. “We’re always behind the eight-ball. But the game keeps evolving, so we always have to catch up. So some things are not just the technology catching up, but the law catching up as well.”
CISA has created a 5G roadmap to help federal agencies safely deploy 5G. CISA also released a 5G Strategy for Secure and Resilient Critical Infrastructure in 2020 to help stakeholders address his 5G future and provide information and guidance to help make decisions about 5G deployment. Did.
“Within the U.S. government, through our 5G Roadmap and many other documents, we have identified secure suppliers and areas where we can deploy a network that is not only robust and meets everyone’s needs. [also] They are sourced from selected regions around the world and from trusted suppliers,” Smith said.
The FBI’s top priorities are maintaining our capabilities, gaining an edge over our adversaries, and protecting our personnel.
“We’re all approaching this problem a little differently, but there’s a shared risk assessment,” Katie Noyles, director of the FBI’s science and technology division, said at the event. “We are looking carefully at each of these use cases, analyzing them, and trying to develop mitigation strategies. We are also working to leverage these partnerships and capabilities.”
Noyles added that 5G is “the wave of the future” and that some government agencies are already leveraging its potential to improve connectivity, particularly in emergency and disaster services.
“We have seen mobile phone roaming, mobile phone usage. [unmanned aircraft vehicles],mobile phone [unmanned aircraft systems]. “This will be extremely helpful to firefighters who are trying to respond to wildfires that may occur in remote areas,” said Christian Williams, General Services Administration (GSA) Wireless His Mobility and His SATCOM Division Chief. says.
5G also provides ubiquitous connectivity. “You will be able to use your mobile phone, tablet, smartphone, etc. [internet of things] You don’t have to run on Wi-Fi or a database, you can have all your devices on one network,” Williams said.
At the FBI, 5G will help enable body-worn cameras that are inherently reliable in remote locations.
“There’s no other media. It’s all digital, it’s all hashed, it’s all on the cloud. And it’s authenticated from cradle to grave. So you have access to all the fields. And that’s in all 56 countries. is ubiquitous in [field offices]” Feinberg said.
As with any emerging technology, 5G use cases are still evolving and federal agencies must stay ahead of security threats.
“As part of that, we’re addressing stakeholders and working with the public safety and national security aspects as well as industry and commercial anatomical design stakeholders to understand what’s happening and unfolding today. It’s also important to understand what is being considered, rather than being deployed tomorrow or in five or 10 years,” Smith said.
