IN DETAIL: TECHNOLOGY
Privacy in a 5G World The arrival of 5G means we’re more connected than ever before. Yet 5G will also impact our privacy as we are continuously monitored and tracked. – By Pádraig Walsh
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onversations in the tech community about 5G usually proceed with breathless wonder and expectation. 5G will be faster! 5G has limitless potential! 5G means a hyper-connected world! There is always an exclamation mark.
always available’ environment around each of us. It will be possible to continuously track, monitor and analyse our interactions with our environment. Significant amounts of data, and the means of processing and analysing the data, will be available.
5G will bring faster connections, higher capacity and improved service quality at a lower price point for cellular communication. More devices will be connected, and data can be collected, processed and analysed in real-time. This will support the development of new applications and technologies around virtual reality, autonomous driving, telemedicine, and a range of smart city and workplace technologies.
The privacy challenges posed by 5G include:
All this is true. But it is one side of the coin. Let’s look at the other side.
Security: The tracking and monitoring capability of 5G will be deployed mostly by IoT devices. Most IoT devices in the field are not created with security in mind. Recent cases have demonstrated that IoT devices can be used to launch or propagate serious
5G has the capacity to make a private life impossible. 5G will enable an ‘always connected,
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Volume: Data minimisation is a core principle of data ethics in respect of privacy. 5G goes in the opposite direction. The volume of data will increase substantially. An increase in the amount of data increases, in turn, the security of that data, and the adverse consequences if there is a breach in information security.
