Dr Csaba Kiss Kalló
Head of Connectivity, Mobility and Security Portfolio, Vodafone Ireland
Edge computing brings incredible opportunities – but also some new security considerations
With an ever increasing number of devices and applications getting connected, the amount of data flowing through the networks is growing at a pace never before seen. This has led to the emergence of new digital services which rely upon the analysis of exponential amounts of data at a rapid rate. Even the slightest loss of connectivity or speed can potentially render all of these services ineffective. Today’s architecture simply isn’t up to the challenge and latency and dependability issues will be exposed under the increased strain. A new solution is needed.
If we are to fully embrace the potential of 5G and other emerging digital services, we must first re-examine and re-architect how networks, applications and systems are delivered and secured. This is where edge computing comes in. Edge computing pushes data processing and storage units to the edge of the network with the goal of reducing latency and dependency issues. However, protecting systems operating at the edge of the network poses a number of new and different security challenges when compared to delivering and securing services from a centralised cloud environment.
In this paper, we examine four of the main security challenges that must be overcome if we are to truly embrace edge computing and how to approach them. The four major edge computing challenges are:
An increased attack surface.
System safety and the risk of increased reliance.
Embedding technology in devices with longer lifespans.
The implications of the multivendor software environment.
