SECURING THE 5G ENGINE FOR A SAFER DIGITAL WORLD

India's 5G revolution demands a defence-first mindset as cyber threats escalate, making trust, resilience and Zero Trust security essential for a digital economy.

- LT GEN DR SP KOCHHAR

As India stands proudly at the cusp of a technological renaissance, our nation's 5G networks are rapidly becoming the central nervous system of a trillion-dollar digital economy.

This is not just an upgrade. It is a fundamental rewiring of how we live, work and innovate. From smart cities and autonomous factories to Al-driven healthcare and immersive education, the promise of 5G is the promise of a Viksit Bharat. Yet, as we build this hyper-connected future, a formidable shadow looms: the escalating threat of cyberattacks.

Globally, cybercrime is projected to inflict damages worth an astronomical USD 10.5 trillion by 2025, an economy of its own that thrives on disruption and theft. In India, where the telecom cybersecurity market is galloping at a high of 20.6%, the average cost of data breaches has already climbed to a staggering Rs 22 crore in 2025, according to IBM. As stewards of the nation's critical digital infrastructure, the telecommunications industry recognises that its primary responsibility is not just to connect India, but to protect it. Cybersecurity is no longer a technical feature; it is the very bedrock of trust upon which our digital future must be built.

THE NEW BATTLEFIELD OF 5G SECURITY

The 5G era presents a fundamentally different security paradigm. Unlike the closed architectures of the past, 5G networks are dynamic, software-defined and massively interconnected. With billions of IoT devices coming online and network functions becoming virtualised, the world is now defending a fluid, ever-expanding ecosystem with countless new entry points for malicious actors.