Interview: John Hopping, Ericsson

How will new government policies affect the rollout of AI in organisations?

The Australian Government policy on Artificial Intelligence in Government, which was launched in September this year, aims to protect Australians from harm; ensure that AI risk mitigation is proportionate and targeted; and ensure that AI use is ethical, responsible, transparent and explainable to the public. While not mandated, the government advises the private sector to implement this policy as well.

We think organisations will want to take it one step further and tell the public how they’re mitigating the security risks associated with AI. This means considering things like network isolation as a digital air gap, where data and systems are separated, operating in distinct, self-contained environments that can’t be accessed from adjacent networks. This limits the lateral movement of threats within a network that has been breached, reducing the likelihood of widespread compromise.

Organisations will also need to consider a 5G network, whether through a wireless wide area network (WWAN) or a private network, to enable the transfer of large amounts of data with low latency and a more secure connection, because any enterprise attempting to train a LLM could be leveraging as much as petabytes — if not more — to ensure the Gen AI function is able to support massive workflows and a large customer base.

How can public agencies be best prepared for the cybersecurity threats they will face in the near future?

The growing use of IoT in more places and hybrid working models have resulted in an increase in the number of attack vectors that cybercriminals can attempt to hack through. 5G enables government agencies flexible and fibre-fast performance, enabling Wireless WAN connectivity and forward-looking innovation for fixed and temporary locations, vehicles, and IoT applications. While 5G is inherently quite secure, the more end points attached to any network, the larger that organisation’s attack surface.

Ericsson 5G SASE is SASE optimised for companies who want to use 5G to connect this growing number of devices. By delivering zero-trust connectivity, features that include deny-all by default and blocking of east/west traffic mean that if an intruder enters one part of the network, they are unable to move laterally to other parts of the network.

Ericsson’s zero-trust connectivity also protects IoT devices without an agent or browser and allows for policy-enabled access, meaning government departments can set different security policies for different parts of the network and for individuals within an organisation.

What can public sector organisations and their suppliers do to manage the risks of increasing complexity?

‘Appification’ has resulted in customers, contractors, and partners — the whole supply chain — accessing applications from devices that are unmanaged and therefore risky, not to mention employees using their own devices to access sensitive data.

As part of its 5G SASE, Ericsson offers Web Application Isolation, which enables employees to access public cloud applications and private or web-based corporate applications while providing secure access from unmanaged devices of third parties and employees.

Air-gapping applications and data from malware or security threats on a device means users on any managed or unmanaged device can still access applications. Easy-to-set granular policy controls can restrict access and data usage on a least-privilege basis and enforce per-user browser controls to prevent data loss. This means that for instance, if you have an employee working from a personal device, they may be permitted to edit a file within Office 365 but not to download it onto their unmanaged device. In contrast, a contractor may be limited solely to viewing data within an app.

Privacy, data security and exceptional customer experience… can they coexist?

The expectation from customers — whether in the public or private sector — is that everything is connected. Everyone wants information at the touch of a button. So, when we talk about good customer service, organisations need to be ‘always on’. Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions enable organisations to get reliable, secure and fast connectivity in areas where wires can’t go, or as a failover solution to fibre or satellite connectivity.

We have organisations that use us for primary connectivity, meaning their businesses run on our cellular connectivity solutions. That might be because they don’t have fibre connectivity available at their location, or because they move or open new locations frequently and waiting for fibre connectivity delays them from starting operations.

In the case where organisations are using us for failover, this might be because they experience frequent outages on their fibre network, or perhaps in vehicles where satellite might be used as primary connectivity but does not work well in urban and densely built-up areas, so they need a cellular alternative.

So organisations have a lot of options to ensure they have reliable, robust connectivity all the time. Ericsson’s 5G SASE combines security with the network creation process for a zero-trust foundation that can be turned up in just six minutes. The solution obscures IP addresses, blocks east–west traffic and is deny-all by default — preventing lateral movement and minimising the attack surface.

John Hopping is Director of Sales Engineering Asia Pacific, Enterprise Wireless Solutions at Ericsson, with nearly 30 years of experience in the IT sector. His previous experience includes technical roles at Optus, BT, Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb.