Huawei 5G kit must be removed from UK by 2027

If this is just Realpolitik/hardware independence, fine, but security..?

Any worthwhile Internet traffic should be encrypted in 2020, and if it isn’t, Huawei probably isn’t the most immediate concern.

And if it is encrypted, does it really matter who is listening?

Comments welcome, I know zilch about telecoms hardware.

You're missing one of the largest risk vectors in the whole 5G game.

5G operates on higher frequency and requires a larger density of base stations. If you can identify individual devices -- even without cracking the encryption they use -- then you can track them them geographically, and also conduct traffic analysis.

5G presents a potential security risk because it allows far greater granularity of device localization, even without GPS.

I don't know if I want 5G. It sounds like wimax but faster. I don't think it gives that much benefit, triangulation already was able to bomb a terrorist in Russia in the 90s. How much worst could it get?

My understanding is that the difference between 5G density/localization and that of previous technologies is quite substantial, especially in urban areas.

"The extension of spectrum range has an impact on the network architecture. mmwave cells will employ shorter ranges of around 100-to-200 meters which will require extreme densification to provide high coverage. 3G networks reached densities of fourto- five base stations per km², 4G networks eight-to-ten per km², while 5G networks could reach densities of 40-to-50 per km²."

https://www.newtec.eu/article/article/choosing-the-right-con...

I'm wondering how much worst it is since we already can track people pretty well with cellular data now. Sorry if I didn't make that clear, seems like they can already do all those things. How much worst can it be?

Its the difference between knowing which neighborhood you're in and which street or mabye even which house you're in.

But you can already tell what house you're in with triangulation, and even the room.