We are still far from the launch of the 6G connection for mobile phones, as it is scheduled for the year 2030. But manufacturers are already starting to work on connectivity and its improvements over 5G, although it may not be as good as you think. This is because researchers have discovered serious security breaches in the new technologies that this new class of network employs.
This has been revealed by a study carried out by different universities, which have been investigating the programmable metasurfaces, one of the new features that come with 6G. These consist of an electromagnetic network that is integrated into everyday objects to optimize communication channels. The key to this technology lies in the fact that it will serve to enhance and Increase Speed above even the best wireless networks that work with 5G. However, the vulnerability presented by this functionality has been revealed after the investigation that has been carried out.
The security of 6G in question
The big problem with 6G for mobile phones is that hackers have it very easy to carry out two new attacks taking advantage of the weaknesses of these programmable metasurfaces. The credit for the discovery goes to researchers from Peking, Sannio and Southeast Universities. Likewise, the study has been published in Nature Electronics and indicates that these two classes of attack (active and passive) are based on the main novelty of this connection. Researchers Lianlin Li, Vincenzo Galdi, and Tie Jun Cui state the following:
“The open nature of wireless communication means that data and signals are essentially out in the open, making the risk of attacks at the physical level a significant concern.”
Hackers can take advantage of this 6G metasurface with the malicious intent of spy on interactions between two devices to interfere with the signal, such as that of a router to slow down the download speed. This would be the case of the passive attack, while the active attack would consist of sending false data to a user while spying on their connection. The worst of all this is that, currently, it is very difficult to detect the criminal.
This research can be very useful
Since there is still a long way to go until the official launch of 6G for smartphones, the professionals who have carried out the study hope that this research will be of great help for the coming years. User safety is a fundamental element and find gaps so vulnerable in one of the most anticipated mobile technologies should not be normal.
“Currently, we are focused on developing targeted defenses against physical layer attacks, exploiting strategies such as beamforming, cooperative interference with artificial noise, index modulation, and adaptive modulation.”
The beginning of the deployment of 6G seems to be planned for the year 2030 as indicated by the manufacturers. There is time ahead to solve the situation and offer a secure option that is proof of cyber attacks.