Trend Micro Incorporated today released new joint research with CTOne warning that a lack of communications technology (CT) expertise could be exposing private 5G networks to compromise, despite the widespread adoption of AI security tools.
Rachel Jin, Chief Enterprise Platform Officer at Trend, commented, "Not all AI security is created equal, and some organizations are putting themselves at risk due to lack of know-how. Proactive attack surface management is crucial for private 5G networks, where any oversight can open the door to compromises. Security leaders must combine AI-powered protection with a deep understanding of technology and cyber risk to safeguard these critical environments."
Private 5G networks are booming thanks to their use across critical industries, including energy and utilities, military, logistics, healthcare, and smart manufacturing. 100% of Trend survey respondents revealed they are either currently using them (86%) or evaluating their deployment (14%).
IT and cybersecurity professionals also appear to understand the potential benefits of AI-powered security in these environments: nearly all said they are either currently using (62%) or planning to use (35%) such tools for private 5G networks.
They view the following AI-powered capabilities as essential in this regard:
- Predictive threat intelligence (58%)
- Continuous, adaptive authentication (52%)
- Zero trust enforcement (47%)
- Self-healing networks featuring AI automation (41%)
Jim Frey, Principal Analyst, Networking for ESG, said, "Organizations are finding great operational value from private 5G networking, often as a part of AI projects. But they must ensure that their security operations center is prepared to monitor and protect this emerging communications technology. Cybersecurity providers that can deploy proactive risk management, attack path prediction, and other proactive measures will be well positioned to help protect private 5G and AI architectures."
More than nine in ten organizations currently using AI security admit to facing challenges in deploying the tech to private 5G networks. High costs (47%), concerns over false positives/negatives (44%), and a lack of internal expertise (37%) were most frequently cited.
A lack of in-house CT know-how is reflected in the fact that just a fifth (20%) of global organizations have a dedicated team for securing their communications networks. In many cases, responsibility for CT security lies with the CTO (43%) or CIO (32%).
"As enterprise use of private and public mobile networks accelerates, we are seeing new challenges that demand specialized CT security capabilities," said Jason Huang, CEO at CTOne. "Organizations need the ability to secure end-to-end combined broad visibility that fits with SecOps needs, enabling them to manage their enterprise attack surface risk as it expands to support new wireless applications."
On average, less than a fifth (18%) of organizations' security budgets are currently allocated to private 5G networks, despite the critical services they support and the highly sensitive data flowing through these networks.
Trend's research revealed that organizations may be unwittingly exposing themselves to cyber and compliance risks by failing to safeguard the use of AI for traffic monitoring/analysis.
Specifically, only around half or fewer respondents said that they:
- Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations like GDPR (54%).
- Encrypt data at rest and in transit (51%).
- Deploy strict access controls for AI models (50%).
- Use data anonymization techniques (44%).
Methodology
Trend Micro & CTOne commissioned Sapio Research to survey 800 managers or above, with decision-making authority over IT and/or cybersecurity across the US, UK, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. All respondents work in companies with 250+ employees and either currently use a private 5G network or are evaluating deployment.
To learn more about Trend and CTOne's activities at MWC Barcelona 2025, please visit: https://resources.trendmicro.com/Mobile_World_Congress_MWC_2025_LP.html
