Former FCC leaders Tom Wheeler and David Simpson argue that the focus on Huawei has drowned out discussion of a larger problem with the 5G network: that even applying the best cybersecurity practices of today won’t keep our data safe. To address that problem, they call for “a new relationship between business and government.”
They describe the 5G network’s architecture as a departure from the hub-and-spoke hardware design of existing networks, with its widely distributed software-defined digital routing, which will eliminate central chokepoints where cyber hygiene can be practiced, thereby making cybersecurity “exponentially more difficult.”
They warn that an FCC cybersecurity program to address these challenges was discontinued by the Trump administration. They call for the United States to follow the approach seen in Europe, South Korea, and China, where governments are engaging with standards bodies and industry, and to switch from a culture of “move fast and break things” to one that “moves fast, securely.”