What the Shift to 5G Will Mean for Healthcare Cybersecurity?

5G has spent years hovering on the horizon, its industry-revolutionizing potential waiting just out of reach for healthcare providers and consumers. But now, the wait is (almost) over — and for some, it already is. Mobile 5G began to make limited appearances in major cities across the country in the latter half of 2019. Those limits won’t be in place for long; however, a more comprehensive rollout is expected to sweep through the nation this year. 

5G’s entry onto the scene has the potential to expand the healthcare industry’s potential in ways that we would never have imagined a decade ago — and pose all-new security risks for patients and providers. 

Most press pieces have focused on the latter point, and for a good reason. 5G stands to have an incredibly positive impact on the healthcare sector as a whole — its super-fast mobile speeds will make communication instantaneous and connectivity a given. Where 4G might have been capable of sending data to and from 100,000 devices per square kilometer, 5G’s hyper-fast download speeds will enable data transmission for a million devices across the same distance.