News tagged: M2M

17 January, 2019

5G and the edge – it’s not just the future

We’re moving to a 5G world. It’ll be one where data is vital to our daily lives. Data now needs to be instantaneous. Any delay, even for an nth of a second, could be catastrophic in an always-on world. That nth could be a tenth of a second, nothing more. But no matter how fast your fibre connection, if information has to travel across continents to get to you, there’s going to be latency, writes Jack Pouchet, the vice president of business development at Vertiv.

Imagine sitting in an autonomous car at 70mph with vehicles whizzing all around you. That nth of a second could be the difference between a collision and a smooth journey home.

Smart cities, the Internet of Things (IoT), connected cars, online gaming and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications are all driving the demand for instant connections. This, in turn, is driving the trend to edge computing.

On-the-edge computing, as the industry calls it, removes that latency and provides the instant connectivity the modern world and mission critical applications demand.

History to lead the future
As a result, the edge will both benefit from, and drive the development of, more reliable and faster internet connections. It makes for a shared future between the edge and 5G. However, it’s not just the future that connects them – these technologies could in fact benefit from key learnings in each other’s past evolution. The implementation of 4G LTE (long-term evolution) is a great example. Whereas 3G could connect society more easily, 4G truly brought high-speed data connectivity to the masses. It expanded quickly and became integral to society’s day-to-day life.

This illustrates that businesses and society will eagerly adopt any new developments in 5G as well. Given its correlation with the edge, it could imply that the edge needs to be 5G ready. But how can you be ready for something that’s undefined at the moment? This is not impossible, as it primarily means the edge needs to be communication ready, and this is already feasible. Vertiv can, for example, offer fully integrated and scalable systems with high-quality communications capabilities.

Another key learning from the 3G/4G/5G evolution is its inherent influence on infrastructure development. Whereas 3G allowed for places of leisure, such as McDonald’s and airports, to become connectivity hubs, 4G enabled the further implementation of technology globally, both in cities and rural areas. With the boost in implementation and usage also came an increased need for more robust, secure edge resources.

Similarly, the edge will see a change in infrastructure needs with the progress of 5G. We don’t yet know what 5G cellular architectures will look like. However, we know they will enable more consumer applications, as well as potential other applications we haven’t imagined yet. This means that telco, cloud and colocation architectures will evolve to meet 5G and edge needs. It is expected that cloud and colocation companies will continue to expand their footprint to provide services closer to users. This, combined with the continued deployment of edge-ready local infrastructure, matched to archetypes and use cases, will create an edge ecosystem that extends far beyond traditional small-space edge deployments.

The current edge

It seems like the direction of future developments is not as mysterious as one might think. So how ready is the industry for 5G and edge computing to really take hold? In an effort to understand and foresee future demand, Vertiv analysed a variety of emerging use cases, resulting in the ‘Edge Archetypes’ report. The report identified four primary edge archetypes:

• Data intensive

This represents use cases where the amount of data makes it impractical to transfer over the network directly to the cloud, or from the cloud to the point-of-use, because of data volume, cost or bandwidth issues. This includes the technologies needed for smart cities.

• Human-latency sensitive

This includes use cases where services are optimised for human consumption, for example smart retail and augmented reality. Speed is of the essence for these use cases, hence the need to use the edge.

• Machine-to-machine latency sensitive

This segment covers use cases where services are optimised for machine-to-machine consumption. Machines can process data much faster than humans and therefore require a higher speed. Examples include developments for Smart Grid and Defence force simulation.

• Life critical

The final archetype speaks to the imagination: it covers use cases that directly impact human health and safety – thus requiring speed and reliability. Technologies such as drones, digital health and smart transportation fall into this segment.

Developments in 5G cellular networks will both enable and drive the evolution of these archetypes, and the edge in general, to allow for the implementation of edge-dependent applications.

It might seem like these developments are still out of reach and need to be government-driven due to its vastness. However, the commercial sector is more likely to truly drive this evolution with the development of consumer-oriented services and apps – increasing the demand of the edge’s capabilities.

With the available knowledge at hand and the opportunity for the commercial sector to drive demand, the realisation of edge computing and 5G cellular networks might just be closer than you think.

21 December, 2018

How IoT is reshaping the world of telecommunications

From connected cars and wearable devices to smart homes and cities, the Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming the world around us, especially in telecommunications. This fourth industrial revolution — also driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, 3D printing, and other emerging technologies — will (more…)

13 November, 2018

Infotecs is a founding member of Innovation Cluster 5G Berlin e.V.

Infotecs, the international vendor of cyber security and threat intelligence solutions, became a founding member of the Innovation Cluster 5G Berlin e.V. and is actively contributing to the digitalisation in the German capital and testing various 5G technologies. (more…)

19 October, 2018

The rise and rise of the e-SIM

Global eSIM appears set to make a major impact in consumer and IoT/M2M markets. eSIMs enable multiple mobile operators’ profiles to be generated, securely downloaded and provisioned over the air, based upon GSMA’s Remote SIM Provisioning specifications. (more…)

25 April, 2018

ECTA welcomes Transatel as a new member

European Mobile Virtual Network Enabler (MVNE) and aggregator, Transatel is joining ECTA as a Full member. The company has experience in Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connectivity and in the Internet of Things (IoT). (more…)

13 April, 2018

The internet of broken things? 10 key facts about IoT – part 2

Ian Kilpatrick, the enteprise vice president of cyber security at Nuvias Group, continues his article detailing the 10 key facts about IoT that organisations need to take into account to avoid creating an internet of broken things.

6. The effects of an attack

The aftermath of a cyberattack can be devastating for any company, leading to huge financial losses, compounded by regulatory fines for data breaches, and plummeting market share or job losses. At best, a company could suffer irreparable reputational damage and loss of customer loyalty.

On top of that, IoT devices have the potential to create organisational and infrastructure risks, and even pose a threat to human life, if they are attacked. We have already seen the impact of nation-state attack tools being used as nation state weapons, then getting out and being used in commercial criminal activity. While the core focus is on defending critical infrastructure, and that is still far behind the curve, weak business infrastructure is a much softer target.

7. Profit over security

It’s crazy to think that devices with the potential to enable so much damage to homes, businesses and even entire cities often lack basic security design, implementation and testing. In the main this is because device manufacturers are pushing through their products to get them to market as quickly as possible, to cash in on the current buzz around IoT.

Though, F-Secure in its Pinning Down the IoT report says other factors include the small size of the chips being used for cost-saving reasons, and that devices are set to the manufacturer’s default password settings, which are set to four zeros or 1234, which are well known to criminals.

Lawrence Munro, vice president SpiderLabs at Trustwave agrees IoT manufacturers are sidestepping security fundamentals as they rush to bring products to market: “We are seeing lack of familiarity with secure coding concepts resulting in vulnerabilities, some of them a decade old, incorporated into final designs,” he notes.

“If consumers aren’t demanding security, manufacturers will never prioritise it,” says the F-Secure report. “But given the extraordinary dependency society is likely to develop on billions of IoT devices, governments may have to step in to demand security requirements.”

8. Can you see the problem?

Another huge problem is that once a network in attacked, it’s much easier for subsequent attacks to occur.

Yet, recent data shows just half of IT decision makers feel confident they have full visibility and control of all devices with network access. The same percentage believe they have full visibility of the access level of all third parties, who frequently have access to networks, and 54% say they have full visibility and control of all employees.

This is a worrying lack of confidence in network visibility and should be a concern for organisations. Yet, the same figures show basic security measures like network segmentation are only being planned by 24% of businesses in 2018. Without network segmentation, malware entering a network will often be left to spread.

Elsewhere, less than half of organisations have formal patching policies and procedures in place, and only about a third patch their IoT devices within 24 hours after a fix becomes available.

But because updating IoT devices by nature is more challenging, many remain vulnerable even after patches are issued, so organisations need to properly document and test each IoT device on their network.

9. Turning a blind eye

Both consumers and manufacturers seem to be burying their heads in the sand when it comes to IoT security.

Despite security concerns often cited as the number one barrier to greater IoT adoption, Trustwave research shows 61% of firms who have deployed some level of IoT technology have had to deal with a security incident related to IoT, and 55% believe an attack will occur sometime during the next two years. Only 28% of organisations surveyed consider that their IoT security strategy is ‘very important’ when compared to other cybersecurity priorities.

More worrying is that more than a third believe that IoT security is only ‘somewhat’ or ‘not’ important!

Some more troublesome stats – fewer than half of organisations consistently assess the IoT security risk posed by third-party partners, another 34% do so only periodically, and 19%  don’t perform third-party IoT risk assessment at all.

10. Efforts to standardise

These security concerns can obviously paint the adoption of IoT in a negative light. But is there anything being done to mitigate these risks?

In the UK, the government’s five-year National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) is looking to work with the IT industry to build security into IoT devices through its ‘Secure by Default’ initiative.

The group published a review earlier this month that addresses key risks related to consumer IoT and proposes a draft Code of Practice for IoT manufacturers and developers.

Recommendations include: ensuring that IoT devices do not contain default passwords; defining and implementing vulnerability disclosure policy; ensuring software for devices is regularly updated; and a proposal for a voluntary labelling scheme.

While there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel, it may not be enough. Regulators won’t force device manufacturers to introduce the necessary security regulations and practices before thousands of businesses fall victim to attacks. Turning a blind eye to the IoT security risks could leave your organisation permanently paralysed.

12 April, 2018

The internet of broken things? 10 key facts about IoT – Part 1

A recent survey shows 64% of organisations have deployed some level of IoT technology, and another 20% plan to do so within the next 12 months. This means that by the end of 2018, five out of six organisations will be using at least a minimal level of IoT technology within their businesses, writes Ian Kilpatrick, the executive vice president for cybersecurity at Nuvias Group.

(more…)

23 March, 2018

LTE ‘most widely used’ cellular technology worldwide at end of 2017 with North American market share at 74%

In the fourth quarter of 2017, LTE technology became the most widely used wireless cellular technology worldwide achieving more than 35% market share and providing 4G wireless access to services and applications to a large portion of the world’s population. (more…)

19 December, 2017

FIME opens China office and laboratory in Shenzhen

FIME continues its expansion with a new office and test laboratory in Shenzhen, China. To support the specific needs of local terminal vendors, system integrators, service providers and operators, FIME has also tailored its consulting, testing and certification offer. (more…)

08 December, 2017

Benefits of an open and shared mobile money ecosystem

Ever since its advent, mobile money services have particularly been rather efficient in extending financial services to users from across the globe. The number of people that use open and shared mobile money services has grown quite considerably over the years as the services continue to streamline the financial sector. (more…)