Security of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions is increasing in importance and gaining greater attention, particularly because IoT hardware and devices come from supply chains that touch multiple countries from around the world. Longer supply chains consisting of suppliers of hardware and associated software give more opportunities to malicious actors to infect the equipment that creates a connected machine.
The global mobile connectivity ecosystem is in the midst of a transformative phase. As traditional removable Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards are increasingly replaced by Embedded SIM (eSIM) and Integrated SIM (iSIM) technologies, technology providers across the value chain must rethink their long-held strategies, supply chains, and product offerings.
The year 2024 provided numerous technology trends shaping the future of nearly every industry. ABI Research analysts have been covering these developments for some time, and now it’s time to reflect upon our studies in our annual trends whitepaper. Before we dive into the list, here’s a statement from Stuart Carlaw, Chief Research Officer:
If a major telecommunications network is hacked, millions of customers’ connections will be abruptly disrupted, causing widespread societal panic and economic loss. And as illustrated by the recent attack on Verizon and AT&T by Chinese hackers, telco breaches can impact national security posture, too.
SIM Card Demand to Recover in 2024, but Slow Down After
Global Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card shipments were down -7.2% in 2023, reaching 4.09 billion units. This downward growth trend was primarily caused by reduced demand for consumer electronics devices and a stronger-than-expected impact of eSIM in the United States.
Working in a competitive industry demands that you become a data-driven organization. As a technology solution provider, effectively leveraging data can unlock significant advantages, such as driving market expansion and fostering innovation. Unfortunately, all too many companies lack an analytical approach to decision-making.
Signaling was a major security vulnerability for legacy cellular generations (2G, 3G, and 4G), opening the gate to signaling storms, SS7 and Diameter-based exploitation, spam, and fraud. While it’s easy to assume 5G networks would be immune to such cyberattacks, this isn’t the case. Many 5G deployments are hybrid (also using legacy connectivity) and are Non-Standalone (NSA), making it essential that signaling continues to be a core focus of telco security solutions. Even for 5G Standalone (SA) networks, threat actors will adapt and leverage more elaborate schemes.
Embedded cellular connectivity by nature is not static, in terms of both its ability to serve moving objects, and the fact it provides a secure cellular channel that can enable dynamic future-looking capabilities. It is abundantly clear that cellular-enabled IoT connections will grow exponentially over the next 5 years, forecast to increase from 1.5 billion in 2023 to 6.5 billion by 2030. There is a clear demand for cellular as enterprises look to unlock digital transformation strategies. Enterprises are looking toward cellular as a connectivity technology that is reliable, wide reaching, global in nature, and future proof, as well as being a technology that can address the pain points of today and one that can grow and evolve to address the pain points of tomorrow. Embedded connectivity will unlock this growth opportunity thanks to purpose-built specifications designed to provide out-of-the-box connectivity, alongside new levels of implementation and ongoing management flexibility.
By now, most people should understand the risks of being complacent with cyber protection. Cybersecurity Ventures reports that cybercrime will cost victims US$9.5 trillion worldwide in 2024.. As enterprises continue to invest in digitization, cyber threat actors see additional devices and systems as new opportunities to enter a network. Cyber threat actors use various tactics to carry out cyberattacks, particularly social engineering attacks, phishing attacks, ransomware, distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks, malware, etc. A successful attack not only costs a company money, but it can damage brand reputation and result in trade secrets or Intellectual Property (IP) being compromised.
With cellular modules getting more attention for their role in IoT solution security, ABI Research offers the first of a series of educational articles covering cellular modules. In each post, ABI Research analysts provide their insights on cellular modules and their impact on IoT solution security in critical areas of the IoT value chain.