Engineering Tech
Article | July 20, 2022
5G is the next quantum leap in mobile and wireless communication, providing unprecedented speed, capacity, and capabilities. In the 5G world, networks will serve trillions of connected things, and each person will be supported by hundreds of connected devices.
In addition to these opportunities, the combination of new capabilities and virtualisation in 5G introduces new threats. 5G has significantly more network end-points that cyber criminals can exploit, and 5G virtualisation means that the entire connection is based on software, which is inherently hackable.
Transforming society by reconceptualising the “network”
Understanding where the vulnerabilities exist is a critical first step toward protecting 5G networks from cyber threats.
This entails implementing a process that involves identifying, profiling, and assessing the health of each component before allowing it to connect to the network, and, if necessary, restricting access to the 5G service based on this assessment. It's known as a zero-trust approach, and it will assist organizations throughout the 5G ecosystem in striking the right balance between business risk and 5G security.
5G Expands Cyber Risks
The network is transitioning away from centralized, hardware-based switching and toward distributed, software-defined digital routing. However, in the 5G software defined network, that activity is pushed outward to a web of digital routers spread throughout the network, removing the possibility of chokepoint inspection and control.
5G adds to its cyber vulnerability by virtualizing higher-level network functions previously performed by physical appliances in software. These activities are based on the Internet Protocol common language and well-known operating systems.
Even if it were possible to secure the network's software vulnerabilities, the network is also managed by software—often early generation artificial intelligence—that is vulnerable.
The dramatic increase in bandwidth that enables 5G opens up new attack vectors. Low-cost, short-range small-cell antennas deployed throughout urban areas become new physical hard targets.
Finally, there is the vulnerability created by connecting tens of billions of hackable smart devices (actually, small computers) to the Internet of Things network. Plans are in the works for a diverse and seemingly endless list of IoT-enabled activities, ranging from public safety to battlefield to medical to transportation—all of which are both wonderful and uniquely vulnerable.
In this paper, we argue that a zero-trust approach, combined with company leaders focusing on three key pillars—trust, resilience, and enablement—will form the foundation of a sound cyber strategy, allowing companies to roll out 5G quickly and safely.
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Engineering Tech
Article | August 4, 2021
A typical rebar detailing office has a spread of different ages working there – from those with just a few years of experience, to staff who have been detailing rebar for decades. In many ways, this mirrors the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry itself. However, as experienced staff are so quick to produce rebar documentation, often existing ways of working remain in use long after they have been replaced with more efficient methods. After all, by using familiar workflows only new detailers require training, rather than a whole office. Yet 3D rebar detailing software provides more benefits than just quicker deliverables – the benefits to the business, as well as the entire workflow, are significant. With the right rebar CAD software, this does not have to involve a steep learning curve that staff are not ready for, either.
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Engineering Tech
Article | July 20, 2022
One way or another, we all work on infrastructure; whether design, construction, operation or maintenance. We solve problems and make things work – often without the public realising the complexity of our task. We sit in the background and don’t make waves.
We are good at the technical challenges, but how often do we take a step back and think about how our work or project fits into the ambitions of wider society? Who is commissioning it? Why are they commissioning it? What are the political drivers? What do they want the outcome to be? What has changed since we started work on it?
This sort of questioning will help us deliver better projects, as we see the bigger picture, beyond our technical solutions. With so much of our infrastructure delivered through public bodies, it is important that civil engineers understand, and give professional advice to, the political process that drives infrastructure investment for our communities.
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Engineering Tech
Article | August 4, 2021
In amongst the chatter about how we can 'do' infrastructure better, there's now a growing consensus that we need to improve the way we design our interventions - 'design' in the broader sense of the word, rather than the narrow sense we tend to use as engineers.
My front-end principles for better infrastructure
Over the course of my career, the following front-end principles have served well to ensure we think through, before we rush in where angels fear to tread.
Be clear about the purpose and the expected outcomes, and engage communities in decision-making through an effective communication strategy.
Prioritise the user, aiming to offer services that are modern, effective and affordable.
Seek to improve people's quality of life and support the transition to a more sustainable future, while also facilitating the functioning of the economy, enhancing productivity and accommodating growth (to the extent possible, given other competing objectives).
Extract greatest value from existing infrastructure through timely maintenance, repurposing, renewal and upgrading. Seek to remove constraints and bottlenecks.
Aim to make best use of data, automation, innovation and technology (including for future asset management), recognising the complexity and risks this may introduce.
Recognise, analyse, mitigate and manage technical, environmental and climate risks, and complete any surveys necessary to support this.
Improve governance, with robust, timely and transparent decision-making, supported by strong evidence-based planning, clear prioritisation, and best practice technical design and delivery.
Seek an appropriate funding balance between 'user pays' and general taxation which incentivises behaviours in the best long-term social, economic and environmental interests.
Complete well-evidenced business cases and risk assessments of proposed initiatives before embarking on projects, including financing proposals. Aim to allocate the risks identified to those best able to carry them.
Facilitate collaboration between the government and business to promote delivery of the broader social, economic and environmental benefits.
Clearly, there are many other issues to consider as a project develops, and the above principles may seem obvious to some, and a counsel of perfection to others, but it's surprising how many are overlooked in the rush to build.
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