My latest opinion articles
Can we afford to keep ignoring Open RAN security?
I’m skeptical of ‘futurists’. Work closely enough with the development of technology solutions and you’ll know that the only certain thing about the future is that it’s constantly changing. For example, few ‘futurists’ predicted the Covid-19 outbreak that brought the world to a standstill in 2020. Many, however, had...
Introducing Society 5.0
Self-help authors and politicians seem to agree on at least one thing: mindset matters. The shelves of bookstores worldwide are awash with motivational books by evangelical writers hoping to convert readers to their gospel of optimism. The central thesis is simple: success depends on approaching life, especially its challenges,...
Securing Society 5.0 – Overcoming the hidden threats in society’s greatest evolutionary leap
A term first coined by the Japanese government, “Society 5.0” describes "A human-centered society that balances economic advancement with the resolution of social problems by a system that highly integrates cyberspace and physical space." The fifth evolution of the society, enabled by the fifth generation of cellular networking and...
Open RAN May Be the Future of 5G, but Can We Keep It Secure?
It's been a year of contradictions for the telecommunications industry.
Like most sectors, it has been heavily impacted by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a slowdown in global 5G roll-outs being a notable result. Geopolitical conflicts have continued to muddy the market, with governments playing a more active...
Cybersecurity and Safety in the 5G-Enabled Smart-Everything World
Neil Harbisson calls himself a cyborg. Without the antenna implanted in his skull, he would not be able to see colour of any kind. Born with achromatopsia, a condition of total colourblindness that affects 1 in every 30 000 people, Harbisson's physical faculties are augmented by cyber technology to...
My latest technology articles
A Comparison of 5G Core Network Architectures
The 5G Core network is a Service Based Architecture. It evolves the traditional appliance based 4G Core Network to support services. It offers more agility and flexibility.
The major building blocks of this architecture include
Service-Based Interface: The Service Based Interfaces rely on HTTP/2
The 5G Network Functions: As explained...
The Open RAN Lexicon You Need
The telecoms and digital technologies sectors are notoriously jargonised. Eavesdrop on any conversation at an industry conference (remember those?) and you’d be treated to a parade of acronyms, initialisms and technical terms that would sound like ancient Greek to an outsider.
However, with new technologies being developed and deployed at...
5G in Manufacturing – 5G and Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) for Industrial Automation
In the recent report by IHS Markit - "The 5G Economy - How 5G will contribute to the global economy" - researchers claimed that manufacturing will garner almost $4.7 trillion in sales enablement by 2035. Or 36% of the $13.2 trillion total opportunity of 5G by 2035. Manufacturing will...
Introduction to 5G Core Service-Based Architecture (SBA) Components
The interest in 5G and mIoT is exploding. It's exciting to see so many IT and cybersecurity professionals in my network trying to learn more about 5G and related technologies.
In addition to my usual articles about the societal impacts of these innovations, I'll start a series of articles introducing...
LoRaWAN Security 101 (Non-5G IoT Connectivity Options)
I get accused of focusing too much on 5G as the only future IoT connectivity option. I do write a lot about how 5G will revolutionize our society, become the most critical of critical infrastructures and about security threats with 5G. I see 5G, with its low latency, high...
Introduction to 5G Core Service-Based Architecture (SBA) Components
The interest in 5G and mIoT is exploding. It's exciting to see so many IT and cybersecurity professionals in my network trying to learn more about 5G and related technologies.
In addition to my usual articles about the societal impacts of these innovations, I'll start a series of articles introducing key 5G and mIoT technology concepts. Before we move on to technical aspects of 5G security.
Let's get started with reviewing the 5G core service-based architecture and learning the first few dozen acronyms, out of approximately a gazillion. The cellular industry loves acronyms. Even more than the cybersecurity industry.
5G architecture is an evolution of current 4G architectures but based on a Service-Based Architecture (SBA). The 3GPP defines the SBA for a 5G core network as delivered by a set of interconnected...
The Open RAN Lexicon You Need
The telecoms and digital technologies sectors are notoriously jargonised. Eavesdrop on any conversation at an...
LoRaWAN Security 101 (Non-5G IoT Connectivity Options)
I get accused of focusing too much on 5G as the only future IoT connectivity...
5G Network Slicing Technology: A Primer
Hyped as the technology that will transform the world, 5G is moving past the buzzword...
NFC Security 101 (Non-5G IoT Connectivity Options)
NFC is a short range two-way wireless communication technology that enables simple and secure communication...
IEMI – Threat of Intentional Electromagnetic Interference
As our cities, our transportation, our energy and manufacturing – our everything – increasingly embrace...
Zigbee Security 101 (Non-5G IoT Connectivity Options)
Zigbee technology introduction
Zigbee is wireless PAN (Personal Area Network) technology developed to support automation, machine-to-machine...
5G Network: A Quantum Leap in Connectivity – and Cyber Threats
The timeline of human history is marked by inflection points of major technological advancement. The plow, the printing press, the telegraph, the steam engine, electricity, the telephone, the internet: each of these breakthroughs precipitated tectonic shifts in how people lived and worked. Now, in the early part of the 21st century, we stand witness to the birth of a new industrial revolution built on 5th generation cellular technology - 5G network.
As the name implies, 5G network follows a developmental chain. First came 1G, the first generation of cellular communication that freed us to make voice calls without being tethered to a physical phone connection. Then 2G augmented this by adding data services like SMS and MMS. 3G gave us access to mobile internet, video calling and other data-heavy services....
Wi-Fi Security 101 (Non-5G IoT Connectivity Options)
The Wi-Fi represents wireless technology that includes the IEEE 802.11 family of standards (IEEE 802.11a,...
Cyber-Kinetic Security and Privacy Threats in Smart Cities
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities. The UN estimates that by...
Bluetooth Security 101 (Non-5G IoT Connectivity Options)
Bluetooth is short-range wireless communications technology based on the IEEE 802.15.1 protocol. It works in...
Growing Cyber-Kinetic Threats to Railway Systems
Cybersecuring railway systems from potential attackers must become paramount in the digitization that those systems...
Regulating the Security of the Internet of Things (IoT) in a 5G World
In one of those strange inversions of reason, The Internet of Things (IoT) arguably began...
When Hackers Threaten your Life – Cyber-Kinetic Risks
The attacker stepped out from behind a hedge in the upper-class suburban neighborhood, being careful...
Geopolitics of 5G and 5G-Connected Massive & Critical IoT
Emerging Technology and Geopolitics of 5G
There are several reasons emerging technology is a highly competitive industry, notwithstanding the race for intellectual property that can be licensed by burgeoning markets for revenue. A first-mover advantage is often a way to lock in relationships that can lead to long-term infrastructure commitments, integration support services, and service delivery platform development. As the adage goes, “Whoever owns the platform, owns the customer.” This race to be the first to establish technological platforms and lock-in their customers is increasingly becoming politicized. And 5G, the next generation of cellular mobile communications technology, is the best example of how geopolitics is getting involved in emerging tech decisions and how technology discussions are influencing geopolitics.
The potential economic gains from 5G development and deployment, the civilization’s likely future...
Geopolitics of 5G and 5G-Connected Massive & Critical IoT
Emerging Technology and Geopolitics of 5G
There are several reasons emerging technology is a highly competitive...
History of Cyber-Kinetic Incidents and Research
The fact that cyber-kinetic attacks rarely appear on mainstream news doesn’t mean they don’t happen....
Cybercrime in China – a Growing Threat for the Chinese Economy
Western publications often picture the People’s Democratic Republic of China (hereafter China) as the world’s...
Stuxnet: The Father of Cyber-Kinetic Weapons
While Stuxnet is gone, the world now knows what can be accomplished through cyber-kinetic attacks.
As...
Regulating the Security of the Internet of Things (IoT) in a 5G World
In one of those strange inversions of reason, The Internet of Things (IoT) arguably began...
Stuxnet and the Birth of Cyber-Kinetic Weapons
Stuxnet was the first true cyber-kinetic weapon, designed to cripple the Iranian – and perhaps...
How 5G Will Transform Economy and Society
Since the dawn of the 21st Century, the ways in which people and organizations that use the Internet experience, perceive and act in the world is radically changing. We interact with physical objects and systems well beyond our sight and comprehension. Our cars, homes, factories and public transportation are controlled increasingly by computer chips and sensors. This interconnectedness already exceeds much of last century’s science fiction imaginings, but is poised to accelerate even more dramatically with the advent of 5G.
Popular telecom carrier driven expectations about the speed and capacity of 5G consumer mobile service tend to obscure the broader reality that 5G network infrastructure will also connect billions of sensors, devices, vehicles, machinery and other things besides smartphones. People will be connected to things too, not just their favorite...
5G Network: A Quantum Leap in Connectivity – and Cyber Threats
The timeline of human history is marked by inflection points of major technological advancement. The...
AI and 5G – Getting Smart About AI and 5G in Canada
Canada has been investing in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) for longer than most...
AI and 5G: AI at the 5G Core – A Double-Edged Sword
If you've ever been to an expensive restaurant and ordered a familiar dish like, say,...
Can we afford to keep ignoring Open RAN security?
I’m skeptical of ‘futurists’. Work closely enough with the development of technology solutions and you’ll...
Digital Double Helix: Why the Fates of 5G and AI are Intertwined
In 2013, George F. Young and colleagues completed a fascinating study into the science behind...
Regulating the Security of the Internet of Things (IoT) in a 5G World
In one of those strange inversions of reason, The Internet of Things (IoT) arguably began...
Securing Society 5.0 – Overcoming the hidden threats in society’s greatest...
A term first coined by the Japanese government, “Society 5.0” describes "A human-centered society that balances economic advancement with the resolution of social problems by a system that highly integrates cyberspace and physical space." The fifth evolution of the society, enabled by the fifth generation of cellular networking and cyber-physical systems, imagines technology, things and humans converging to address some of the biggest societal challenges. The concept encompasses Industry 4.0, Fourth Industrial Revolution, Smart-Everything World and other buzzwords of the moment.
In the society of the future the more the cyber and physical worlds are combined, the greater the benefits we will experience. However, the same is true of cyber threats. The more technology is incorporated into every corner of our social being, even our physical being, the greater the...
History of Cyber-Kinetic Incidents and Research
The fact that cyber-kinetic attacks rarely appear on mainstream news doesn’t mean they don’t happen....
Is Open Living, Smart Living? – Future of Privacy in Smart Cities 2
In part one of this short series on smart cities and privacy, I looked at...
Regulating the Security of the Internet of Things (IoT) in a 5G World
In one of those strange inversions of reason, The Internet of Things (IoT) arguably began...
How 5G Will Transform Economy and Society
Since the dawn of the 21st Century, the ways in which people and organizations that...
Will 5G and Society 5.0 Mark a New Era in Human Evolution?
In their outstanding book, Wicked and Wise, Alan Watkins and Ken Wilber look at some...
Cyber-Kinetic Risk – Unintended Consequence of IoT in a 5G World
Getting smart about security in smart systems
Smart used to be something we called people or...
Cyber-Kinetic Risk – Unintended Consequence of IoT in a 5G World
Getting smart about security in smart systems
Smart used to be something we called people or pets. It wasn't a term one would use to describe one's hairbrush. That is changing, of course, in an era of accelerating digital transformation. Now we have smart homes, smart cities, smart grids, smart refrigerators and, yes, even smart hairbrushes. What's not so smart, though, is the way the cybersecurity and cyber-kinetic security risks of these systems are often overlooked, and with new horizon technologies like 5G, these problems are set to grow exponentially.
Cyber-physical systems and the smartification of our world
Cyber-connected objects have become ubiquitous. They are so prevalent that we are already beginning to take their existence for granted, even though this was the stuff of science fiction only a few years ago....
Navigating a Safe Course Through Maritime Cyberattacks
The open seas have long attracted those who yearned for adventure. The risk of pitting...
Securing Society 5.0 – Overcoming the hidden threats in society’s greatest evolutionary leap
A term first coined by the Japanese government, “Society 5.0” describes "A human-centered society that...
Stuxnet and the Birth of Cyber-Kinetic Weapons
Stuxnet was the first true cyber-kinetic weapon, designed to cripple the Iranian – and perhaps...
Cybercrime in China – a Growing Threat for the Chinese Economy
Western publications often picture the People’s Democratic Republic of China (hereafter China) as the world’s...
Defeating 21st Century Pirates: the Maritime Cyberattacks
The maritime industry faces a not-so-distant future when ships will be completely autonomous, using navigation...
When Hackers Threaten your Life – Cyber-Kinetic Attacks Intro
The attacker stepped out from behind a hedge in the upper-class suburban neighborhood, being careful...
Collaboration: The Unexpected Key to Success in Canada’s 5G
In 1967, Lynn Margulis, a young biologist, published a paper that challenged more than a hundred years of evolutionary theory. It proposed that millions of years ago, the eukaryotes emerged not from competition, as neo-Darwinism asserts, but from collaboration.
Margulis’ research showed how single-celled lifeforms working together created an entirely new organism that became the foundation of all advanced life on earth. This was an inflection point in the development of evolutionary biology, shifting the scientific and cultural narrative away from “survival of the fittest” towards “survival of the most cooperative.”
Though competition contributes to better individual or organizational performance, it can have the opposite effect on larger systems.
In building a world-leading 5G ecosystem in Canada we need to appreciate that success will depend on all stakeholders contributing in a collaborative...
Innovation in Canada – What’s Not Working and What Is
Canada’s rankings in innovation has lagged that of other peer nations for decades despite government...
Canadian Critical Infrastructure Cyber Protection
Targeted cyberattacks against critical infrastructure (CI) are increasing on a global scale. Critical systems are...
AI and 5G – Getting Smart About AI and 5G in Canada
Canada has been investing in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) for longer than most...
Geopolitics of 5G and 5G-Connected Massive & Critical IoT
Emerging Technology and Geopolitics of 5G
There are several reasons emerging technology is a highly competitive...
5G Innovation Zones in Canada for Launching AI and 5G in Tandem
In my previous post I argued that if Canada wants to succeed with its AI-focused...
How 5G Will Transform Economy and Society
Since the dawn of the 21st Century, the ways in which people and organizations that...
Cyber-Kinetic Security and Privacy Threats in Smart Cities
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities. The UN estimates that by 2050 that proportion will be 68% - more than 6 billion people living in high-density conditions. This raises significant challenges. What is the best way to ensure that human needs are met in a fair and equitable way? How will we face challenges like resource strain, waste and pollution management, traffic congestion and connectivity?
In response to these wicked problems, cities are increasingly relying on smart technologies to foster greater efficiency and sustainable growth. These interventions do not, however, come without their own complications. Just like any digital tool, smart systems are vulnerable to cyber-kinetic attacks, but what makes them unique is their high degree of integration. Because these systems are by their nature embedded...
Whispering Buildings and Things That Listen to Us in the Night
How important privacy is for building smart cities and embracing the IoT
In the 60s cartoon...
Cyber-Kinetic Security and Privacy Threats in Smart Cities
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities. The UN estimates that by...
A Smarter Privacy – The Future of Privacy in our Smart Cities – 1
Part One: A Tale of Smart Cities
There has been a lot of talk about 5G...
IIoT and Trust and Convenience: A Potentially Deadly Combination
When microwave ovens first arrived on the market in 1967 they were met with public...
5G Security & Privacy Challenges
Don’t let the “5G” in the title confuse you. This post is not only about...
Introducing Society 5.0
Self-help authors and politicians seem to agree on at least one thing: mindset matters. The...
AI and 5G: AI at the 5G Core – A Double-Edged...
If you've ever been to an expensive restaurant and ordered a familiar dish like, say, lasagna, but received a plate with five different elements arranged in a way that does not at all resemble what you know as lasagna, then you have probably tasted deconstructionism.
This approach to cuisine aims to challenge the way our brain makes associations, to break existing patterns of interpretation and, in so doing, to release unrealized potential. If the different elements work together harmoniously, it should be the best lasagna you've ever tasted.
So it is with 5G.
In principle, the 5th Generation network is deconstructed. Firstly, with its Service-Based Architecture (SBA) the core of the network is a mesh of interconnected services, each working independently but collaboratively.
Next, the new core architecture is based in the cloud,...
AI: The Shifting Battlefield in the Cyber Arms Race
Cybersecurity strategies need to change in order to address the new issues that Machine Learning...
5G Innovation Zones in Canada for Launching AI and 5G in Tandem
In my previous post I argued that if Canada wants to succeed with its AI-focused...
Digital Double Helix: Why the Fates of 5G and AI are Intertwined
In 2013, George F. Young and colleagues completed a fascinating study into the science behind...
Risks of AI – Meeting the Ghost in the Machine
In 1956, at a workshop on the campus of Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire,...
Innovation in Canada – What’s Not Working and What Is
Canada’s rankings in innovation has lagged that of other peer nations for decades despite government...
Emerging Tech Security Guidelines, Frameworks, Standards
Below is my attempt to list of all published 5G, IoT and "Smart Everything"-related security...