Inseego and CyberReef Join Hands to Protect 5G Networks in Regulated Businesses

Highlights:

• Inseego announced a collaboration with CyberReef, the company behind the first mobile firewall MobileWall in the market.
• The new service will allow for the creation of extremely secure 5G mobile access apps that go above and beyond network security compliance standards.

Private 5G provides significant business benefits, including total network control, independence from for-profit carriers, improved performance, and better data privacy. However, protecting a network may be difficult, especially in sectors subject to regulations.

According to Glenn Longley, VP of IoT and product management at Inseego – a 5G corporate cloud Wan provider – deploying security procedures within an enterprise 5G network can be “complicated and scary for IT decision makers” as industry security requirements such as PCI and HIPAA remain unchanged.

Inseego announced a collaboration with CyberReef, the company behind the first mobile firewall, MobileWall. According to Longley, the new service will create highly secure 5G mobile access apps that go above and beyond network security compliance standards.

According to Longley, the new product is a first in the market since it delivers a turnkey, secure 5G network in a single SKU that is offered to the state and local education (SLED) vertical.

Ultimately, “the industry is seeking vetted and mature connectivity and security solutions that are cost-effective and easy to deploy,” he said.

A revolutionary technology

Enterprise 5G is an exclusive wireless LAN solution that caters to an organization’s specific demands. It enables them to achieve low latency, boost devices and sensor support, and increase transmission speeds, network capacity, and bandwidth.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is trying to secure the security and resilience of 5G technology and infrastructure, describes it as nothing less than revolutionary. According to the agency, 5G implies “a total overhaul of communications networks.”

The agency claims that when it is realized, it will fundamentally alter the digital world and “act as a catalyst for innovation, new markets, and economic growth.” “A large array of new and improved critical infrastructure services will be enabled as tens of billions of devices are connected to the internet through 5G.”

Experts predict that concurrently, the danger of cyberattacks on all enterprises would increase tremendously. 5 G’s scale will boost network capacity and attack surface with more devices being connected to corporate and government networks.

Other issues, according to PwC, include strategy and timing, operational expenses, staff planning, and trust. According to the company, it is nearly difficult to predict the future of 5G: “4G ushered in an array of unanticipated features, including video streaming, ridesharing, and more.”

PwC forecasts that widespread adoption of 5G will not occur until 2025, as corporate leaders require time to adapt to the technology and handle adoption and security problems.

The current tendency is to employ a combination of 4G/LTE and 5G, according to Ajeet Das of IDC.

Research director for telecom infrastructure at IDC wrote in an August 2022 whitepaper that “Private 4G/LTE and 5G networks are gaining momentum as they continue to enable various enterprise use cases as they journey through their digital transformation.”

He forecasted that this would continue, noting that the absence of 5G devices is creating a “choke point” in the 5G ecosystem. This “remains an impediment to enterprise adoption worldwide,” he added.

Unlocked capabilities

According to Longley, the new Inseego/CyberReef offering allows regulated companies to easily install 5G CPEs as an immediate solution or update current 4G failover or wireless networks while preserving operational and security standards.

Longley offered the following example of a high school: It did not just block particular content types, including pornographic content and streaming video services like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, but also permitted students to check out mobile tablets. However, they soon realized that students could get around the content restrictions by installing a virtual private network (VPN) on the device and masking the DNS.

The school, however, did not abandon the mobile device checkout program but collaborated with CyberReef to adopt MobileWall, which, unlike VPNs and DNS redirect solutions, is attached to each device’s SIM card.

According to him, regulations for access can be assigned explicitly to particular schools, grade levels, or staff members and can be changed to correspond with the curriculum needs during the academic year.

An industry first

The tool is completely integrated with the CyberReef MobileWall and is powered by Inseego’s Wavemaker 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) portfolio, which is a registered brand. Discountcell, a top provider of wireless gear and accessories and contract holder with the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint, is the only company that offers the combined offering.

It allows the service continuity that healthcare, education, retail, and government companies need to satisfy operational and security standards and is PCI, HIPAA, and CIPA compliant, according to Longley.

He added that the Inseego 5G wireless network aids in delivering security, visibility, and management of all mobile data while abiding by consumer protection and privacy laws in regulated businesses.

Inseego’s Wavemaker 5G FWA enterprise-grade portfolio of customer premises equipment (CPE) is supported by all top U.S. mobile carriers. It supports 5G Sub-6 GHz and mmWave, C-band, CBRS, LTE, and Wi-Fi 6. Additionally, it provides IP pass-through, sophisticated security measures, and essential networking routing capabilities. According to Longley, its deployment is controlled by either the current out-of-band management (OOBM) software or Inseego Connect remote device management.

Meanwhile, MobileWall gives users access to secure mobile wireless connections via on-demand mobile private networking. Users can control their data usage via filtering and App Throttling, a tool that enables businesses to slow down particular high-bandwidth apps, optimize mobile network use, enhance the quality of mobile services, and get rid of mobile data overages, according to Longley.

“CyberReef and Inseego solve the complexity of secure 5G enterprise connectivity by bringing two industry leaders together for a unified network solution,” said Longley.