Zero trust for the 5G era needs urgent acceleration

5G is redefining connectivity, but it is also increasing risk—India needs Zero Trust and security innovation to stay ahead of the evolving fraud landscape.

- BY RAJESH CHHABRA

The widespread rollout of 5G in India marks a significant milestone, with the potential to deliver ultra-low latency, high bandwidth, and empower next-generation applications, ranging from connected cars to smart factories. But as 5G creates a highway for innovation, it also expands the threat surface for cyber fraud. With more devices, identities, and transactions clustering on high-speed networks, the perimeter-based security model is no longer effective. The new normal requires a revolution in security strategy based on Zero Trust.

Zero Trust architecture reverses the security paradigm from ‘trust and verify’ to ‘never trust, always verify’. Zero Trust does not presume that anything, be it a user, a device, or an application, is secure by default. It demands constant authentication, behavioural verification, and real-time threat intelligence. With 5G eliminating geospatial and technical limitations for enterprises, Indian enterprises need to adopt Zero Trust to create scalable, secure, and future-proof digital infrastructure.

ADDING NEXT-GEN IDENTITY AND SECURITY LAYER