India is pushing hard towards digitisation, automation to drive 5G

India has demonstrated what it means to leapfrog across key technology areas. The Digital India program has been driving connectivity, services and education to transform India into a digitally empowered society. The advantages of 5G are overwhelming. With its ultra-high-speed, ultra-low latency and ultra-high reliability, 5G holds the potential to revolutionize consumer services, improve industrial and infrastructure efficiency and enhance the overall quality of life.

India’s push towards automation and digitisation of manufacturing processes leveraging information and communication technologies is expected to drive 5G adoption. 5G networks offer the potential to transform enterprises and industrial sectors to deliver significant social and economic benefits in India. In fact, 5G technologies are expected to make an overall contribution of close to $450 billion to the Indian economy by 2040.

While the adoption of 5G networks creates many benefits, it also expands the attack surface as the number of interconnected devices increases. One of the biggest challenges for security leaders is the vast amount of data that can be transferred quickly and easily over insecure networks. 5G is expected to increase the connectedness of devices — from IoT to Industrial IoT, which will expand the threat landscape significantly as many of these devices may be poorly implemented from a security perspective. In an increasingly interconnected world, cybersecurity is a shared responsibility.

Governments and private organisations cannot address it independently - they have to work together. In India, the private sector owns and operates most networks, which include elements of critical infrastructure like mobile networks. These private players need to be the government’s essential partners in protecting critical infrastructure, especially if 5G is being incorporated. Network operators need to ensure the security of the infrastructure, while the public and private sectors assume responsibility for securing the applications. When both parties actively form strong partnerships, they can stay on top of securing the most critical assets.