Don't actually know a lot about 5G, but I sometimes have to cover cybersecurity for electrical systems as part of my work (attacks on electrical systems are a major concern).I didn’t know they already have a big foot in the door. But isn’t the step to 5G big enough to make it a good place to review?
Is the whole 5G thing being overhyped? From what I heard, as a layman, it’s a big step forward and I would have guessed that it would render us much more vulnerable if we use a potentially malicious supplier now - and if they were malicious in the past , on more “basic” technology, I would hope that is now more easily detected.
The main problem is nothing to do with backdoors or inbuilt vulnerabilities - it lies in persuading electricity companies to take responsibility for their own cybersecurity and spend the money to do so. Too many of them don't understand the seriousness of the problem, or go at it half-arsed instead of installing layered defences and paying for expertise.
With increasingly smart grids, ongoing cybersecurity is just as important as strengthening systems against weather or installing new system management software. To be fair, regulators also have to make sure that utilities have access to funds for cybersecurity.
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