Palo Alto steps up efforts to secure private 5G networks

Deployment of private 5G enterprise networks is on the rise, and concerns about security are on the uptick, too. The architecture of a private 5G network is complex, and it can open up a much larger attack surface than other wireless technologies.

To safeguard enterprise 5G deployments, Palo Alto Networks is partnering with a range of vendors to offer integrated security products and services.

Private 5G networks can bring tremendous efficiency, but protecting them can be challenging to organizations of all sizes, said Anand Oswal, senior vice president and general manager with Palo Alto. “The private 5G network architecture gets increasingly complex the more it connects with devices, networks and services such as IT, OT, IoT. That attack surface can bring new threat vectors and require new end-to-end security management systems,” Oswal said.

Organizations can struggle to manage all the enforcement points across their radio, roaming, and internet infrastructure, he said. “How do you do it across all threat vectors – from command and control connections, from DNS exploits, from ransomware, malware, data, leakages, etc.?” Oswald said. 

In private 5G environments, as much as 90% of threats are occurring through devices such as laptops that are moved around a lot, or through sensors and other IoT devices that are not actively managed, Palo Alto has found. “As customers digitize their operations, [we want to] make sure security is part of the plan from the start and not bolted on afterwards,” Oswal said.

To that end, Palo Alto is developing an ecosystem of vendors that will integrate their own security technologies with Palo Alto’s private 5G security package to offer more comprehensive protection. The vendors that are working with Palo Alto so far include: