The “Internet of Things,” 5G and security are all hot topics. Nokia Networks has pulled them all together in announcing its vision for secure IoT connectivity via 5G that will be demonstrated at the upcoming Mobile World Congress event.
There are many statistics in the public domain related to the IoT. The key takeaway from all of those predictions is that there is a huge potential for growth in that market; for those who develop the devices, provide the connectivity and provide the technology behind the scenes for things such as security and mobile networks that make IoT a reality. According to Nokia Networks, 82% of users of wearable devices in the U.S. believe the technology has enhanced their lives.
By now, many of you know that I believe wearables standing alone are boring and at some point they need to be connected devices via IoT with some type of provided management and connectivity service. If this translates to a longer life of wearable device usage and potentially wider adoption, you can see how large these figures can become. Although most wearables are not sending large amounts of data on a constant basis and can be supported with existing wireless technologies, there is certainly a growing security concern. Security of personal data, security of machines talking to machines and whether or not there is confirmation that the messages being delivered are from legitimate sources. 
Also according to Nokia Networks, autonomous driving could reduce annual CO2 emissions by as much as 300 million tons, in addition to the many other benefits, which include a reduction in traffic deaths, better traffic flow and mobility for those who are not mobile today, to just name a few. That takes security to an even higher level of concern since these messages are enabling cars to act in specific ways without human interaction. This is where the need for 5G can come in to play in order to reduce the latency associated with current mobile networks that limit their ability to support vehicle-to-x functionality.
According to Hewlett-Packard, 70% of IoT devices are vulnerable to an attack. Is the connected car just another one of these devices? Many industry experts believe it is, making that statistic even more concerning. This is where Nokia Networks’ Mobile Guard comes in to play. Initially launched at Mobile World Congress in 2014 and covered by RCR Wireless News in December 2014 at the opening of its security center in Berlin. This technology is being extended to support IoT applications including smart cities, eHealth and smart grid requirements.
There is set to be demonstrations of 5G and Mobile Guard in the Nokia Experience Center and LTE-M in partnership with Korea Telecom at Innovation City during the event. I know I’ll be stopping by to see them live.
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Claudia Bacco, Managing Director – EMEA for RCR Wireless News, has spent her entire career in telecom, IT and security. Having experience as an operator, software and hardware vendor and as a well-known industry analyst, she has many opinions on the market. She’ll be sharing those opinions along with ongoing trend analysis for RCR Wireless News.
