Security – Utilizing Public 5G Networks for Multi-Access Edge (MEC) Architectures
Security has been a perennial concern for Wi-Fi. Early encryption methods such as Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) were quickly found to be vulnerable. While the subsequent WPA and WPA2 protocols offered enhanced security, they were not impervious to breaches. The introduction of WPA3 has aimed to address earlier vulnerabilities. However, Wi-Fi often remains susceptible to threats such as Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attacks, especially in public networks. Users must rely on network administrators to regularly update and patch router firmware to fend off potential threats.
5G was designed with a more security-centric approach. Its architecture incorporates advanced encryption and authentication mechanisms. Nevertheless, the very versatility of 5G, serving a plethora of devices from smartphones to IoT sensors, increases its exposure to potential threats. 5G networks also introduce a more decentralized architecture, which can be both an advantage and a challenge. While it allows for localized data processing and reduces the attack surface, it also means threats can be more localized and harder to detect on a global scale. That said, companies such as Verizon or Vodafone have world-class security teams due to their economies of scale compared to most companies who would be deploying Wi-Fi.
What this all boils down to for you, as an architect, is this: ensuring the security of a Wi-Fi-based solution is completely on your shoulders and those of the folks who will be operating your solution going forward. With a 5G-based MEC approach, you are more reliant on the MNO you have partnered with to address this facet.
Capacity
As we discussed in Chapter 2, Wi-Fi networks, particularly the widely used Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and the newer Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), have made significant strides in increasing capacity with the introduction of technologies such as MU-MIMO. However, as you’ll also recall, Wi-Fi Access Points (APs) tend to be quite limited in the density they can achieve with these things. While a brute-force approach of deploying a great many APs in response will help to some degree, Wi-Fi will always be inherently limited by its original design parameters that targeted Local Area Networks (LANs). You can only put so many APs in a single location before the channels/beams interfere with each other.
5G networks offer a substantial leap in capacity compared to predecessors such as 4G/LTE. With the ability to support up to a million devices per square kilometer, 5G is designed to cater to the burgeoning landscape of IoT, smart cities, and densely populated urban areas. Technologies such as beamforming and the use of the millimeter-wave spectrum play a pivotal role in this capacity enhancement. When you factor in narrow-band versions of 5G (NB-IOT), the density achievable is truly staggering compared to Wi-Fi. Whether this matters to you, as an architect, is completely dependent upon the constellation of application requirements and constraints.