Author: Rose de Fremery
Date published: September 10, 2024
A private wireless network can deliver fast, low-latency connectivity at scale to your premises. These capabilities can help enterprises quickly respond to new opportunities in the market and achieve Enterprise Intelligence, remaining highly agile while providing reliable service where needed. Research firm Analysys Mason projects that enterprises will invest $9 billion in private wireless networks by 2028.
There are myriad reasons an enterprise might want to seriously consider the advantages of private wireless networks, especially as they relate to top-level digital transformation goals. When done right, these networks also offer compelling security benefits that should not be overlooked. Here's why private wireless networks provide a higher level of security compared to public Wi-Fi which can help enterprises mitigate cyber threats against their organizations.
As enterprise IT leaders know quite well, balancing security with business priorities is always a delicate proposition, no matter what layer of the enterprise network is being considered. This tension also exists when it comes to securing wireless internet connections. Since data remains within a private wireless network and is locally available, administrators could potentially reduce certain types of Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks while also helping to mitigate against data exfiltration attacks—access to enterprise data would be available locally at all times even when a denial-of-service attacks target cloud infrastructure. Such risk increases as more endpoints are added and the attack surface expands, increasing the opportunity for man-in-the-middle type attacks and giving attackers even more opportunities to find a weak link they can exploit. Private wireless networks typically require fewer connectivity points than a large Wi-Fi network would, and that can help reduce the complexity of securing an ever-growing array of access points
According to the Verizon 2023 Mobile Security Index (MSI), as many as 9 out of 10 successful cyberattacks and 7 out of 10 successful data breaches originate at endpoint devices. Mobile devices are particularly vulnerable. 80% of phishing attacks are targeted at mobile devices and 49% of users think clicking on a malicious link or attachment will only affect their device.
In many enterprise settings, especially when it comes to companies in highly regulated industries, such as healthcare organizations that may offer public Wi-Fi connectivity and that collect and manage patient health information and personally identifiable information, the business risk associated with having data stolen, intercepted or falsified is very high and public wireless connectivity may not be a viable option.
With public Wi-Fi, enterprise users and devices may have limited to no control over or visibility into how security is handled. In these situations, an enterprise can only try to add layers of security after the fact—for example, by using a virtual private network (VPN) that encrypts a user's session—to try and mitigate the potential risks involved in using a public Wi-Fi, where the security policies and practices may be opaque or unknown. However, there are risks associated with VPNs. Nearly half (46%) of VPN clients are misconfigured or out of date, and even some security professionals admitted to not always using a VPN when accessing public Wi-Fi according to Verizon’s 2022 MSI.
A private wireless network can offer more certainty and clarity when it comes to how security is implemented vs public Wi-Fi. Because the enterprise oversees and manages the network, it has direct control over the network's security settings. Compared to public Wi-Fi, private wireless networks can deliver robust security that is built into 4G and 5G technologies by design. Network traffic does not have to be transmitted to a core site in another location, meaning it can remain on-site instead. This approach reduces the risk of having transmissions accessed, intercepted or co-opted by an unauthorized third party, helping communications and data to remain more secure and under the sole control of the business.
A private wireless network combined with the right network security solutions can help enable 24/7 network monitoring and authorization-based remote access to operational processes and applications so that only permitted connections take place. With greater network security enabled by default, enterprises can make it more difficult for malicious actors to gain unauthorized access to transmissions, data, systems and sessions—thereby reducing the business risk that would otherwise be associated with providing public Wi-Fi connectivity in these settings.
Private wireless networks can also enable seamless authorized user access, allowing employees to simply go about their work as they normally would, enjoying the peace of mind that comes with knowing their connections have a higher degree of security than Wi-Fi, which helps satisfy business priorities for enterprise IT leaders.
Private wireless networks provide many benefits that enterprises may find appealing, including reliable and higher-speed connectivity to support a range of communication, operations and manufacturing use cases. Because they can be quickly deployed and easily scaled, they also enable the network agility that is critical for today's era of continuous digital transformation. In addition to offering these compelling benefits, private wireless networks also offer multiple security advantages compared to public W-Fi. Not only do they provide the robust access security controls that are built into the 4G and 5G networks, but they also give enterprises more control over the network security than they would otherwise be able to achieve with a public Wi-Fi connection. By leveraging the security capabilities inherent in a private wireless network, an enterprise can increase its security while also facilitating powerful innovation that advances its strategic goals.
Discover how Verizon's Private 5G Network solutions can strengthen enterprise network security.
The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.