It may not be wrong to say thaat it is time for 5G networks because consumers  want the future to remain fully mobile, implying more demand for battery-friendly, instant and fast connectivity.
In the words of the head of research, Ericsson Consumer Lab, Michael Bjorn, “Beyond real time, I believe we should be talking about reality time. In fact, what we call reality becomes ever more personal and subjective.
“Consumers not only surround themselves with the like-minded on social networks, but also are also starting to customise the way they experience the world with augmented and virtual reality technologies. Against this backdrop, consumers expect artificial intelligence (AI) to move from assistants to managers.
“Virtual reality will be indistinguishable from physical reality in only three years. More than a third of respondents believe digital privacy no longer exists.”
Virtual Reality (VR) is the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment. Unlike traditional user interfaces, VR places the user inside an experience. Instead of viewing a screen in front of them, users are immersed and able to interact with 3D worlds.
Taking a look into the future, Ericsson  Consumer Lab has presented the sixth edition of its annual trend and harped that AI would be an important theme this year, and consumers see it playing a much more prominent role than before.
“Both in society and at work. In fact, 35 per cent of advanced Internet users want an AI advisor at work, and one in four would like an AI as their manager. At the same time, almost half are concerned that AI robots will soon make a lot of people lose their jobs,” the report said.
Some of these trends include setting the pace for the Internet of Things (IoT). Consumers are increasingly using automated applications, encouraging IoT adoption. Two in five believe smartphones will learn their habits and perform activities on their behalf automatically.

Pedestrians drive autonomous cars
Car drivers may not exist in the future. One in four pedestrians would feel safer crossing a street if all cars were autonomous, and 65 per cent of them would prefer to have an autonomous car.

Merged reality
Almost four out of five VR users believe it will be indistinguishable from reality in only three years. Half of respondents are already interested in gloves or shoes that allow the to interact with virtual objects.

Bodies out of sync
As autonomous cars become a reality, car sickness issues will increase, and three in 10 foresee needing sickness pills. One in three also want motion sickness pills for use with virtual and augmented reality technology.

The smart device safety paradox
More than half already use emergency alarms, tracking or notifications on their smartphones. Of those who say their smartphone makes them feel safer, three in five say they take more risks because they rely on their phone.

 Social silos
Today, people willingly turn their social networks into silos. One in three says social networks are their main source of news. And more than one in four value their contacts’ opinions more than politicians’ viewpoints.

Augmented personal reality
Over half of people would like to use augmented reality glasses to illuminate dark surroundings and highlight dangers. More than one in three would also like to edit disturbing elements around them.

The privacy divide
Two in five advanced Internet users want to use only encrypted services, but people are divided. Almost half would like to have just reasonably good privacy across all services, and more than one out of three believe privacy no longer exists.

Big tech for all
More than two out of five advanced Internet users would like to get all their products from the biggest five IT companies. Of those, three in four believe this will happen only five years from now.
Meanwhile, the cyber security watch in 2016 saw a huge number and variety of cyber attacks, ranging from a high-profile distributed denial of service (DDoS) using hijacked Internet-facing security cameras to the alleged hacking of party officials’ accounts during the U.S. elections. We also saw a rising tide of data breaches, from organisations big and small, and significant losses of people’s personal information.

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Current and emerging attack trends
Destructive DDoS IoT attacks will rise. In 2016, Mirai showed the massive destructive potential of DDoS attacks as a result of insecure consumer IoT devices. Mirai’s attacks exploited only a small number of devices and vulnerabilities and used basic password guessing techniques. However, cybercriminals will find it easy to extend their reach because there are so many IoT devices containing outdated code based on poorly-maintained operating systems and applications with well-known vulnerabilities. Expect IoT exploits, better password guessing and more compromised IoT devices being used for DDoS or perhaps to target other devices in your network.

Shift from exploitation to targeted social attacks
Cybercriminals are getting better at exploiting the ultimate vulnerability, humans. Ever more sophisticated and convincing targeted attacks seek to coax users into compromising themselves. For example, it’s common to see an email that addresses the recipient by name and claims they have an outstanding debt the sender has been authorised to collect. Shock, awe or borrowing authority by pretending to be law enforcement are common and effective tactics. The email directs them to a malicious link that users are panicked into clicking on, opening them up to attack. Such phishing attacks can no longer be recognised by obvious mistakes.
Financial infrastructure at greater risk of attack. The use of targeted phishing and “whaling” continues to grow. These attacks use detailed information about company executives to trick employees into paying fraudsters or compromising accounts. We also expect more attacks on critical financial infrastructure, such as the attack involving Swift-connected institutions, which cost the Bangladesh Central Bank $81 million in February. Swift recently admitted that there have been other such attacks and it expects to see more, stating in a leaked letter to client banks: “The threat is very persistent, adaptive and sophisticated and it is here to stay.”

Exploitation of the Internet’s inherently insecure infrastructure
All Internet users rely on ancient foundational protocols, and their ubiquity makes them nearly impossible to revamp or replace. These archaic protocols that have long been the backbone of the Internet and business networks are sometimes surprisingly flaky. For example, attacks against BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) could potentially disrupt, hijack or disable much of the Internet. And the DDoS attack on Dyn in October (launched by a myriad of IoT devices), took down the domain name system (DNS) provider and, along with it, access to part of the Internet. It was one of the largest assaults ever and those claiming responsibility said that it was just a dry run. Large-scale ISPs and enterprises can take some steps to respond, but these may well fail to prevent serious damage if individuals or states choose to exploit the Internet’s deepest security flaws.

Increased attack complexity
Attacks increasingly bring together multiple technical and social elements, and reflect careful, lengthy probing of the victim organisation’s network. Attackers compromise multiple servers and workstations long before they start to steal data or act aggressively. Closely managed by experts, these attacks are strategic, not tactical, and can cause far more damage. This is a very different world to the pre-programmed and automated malware payloads we used to see, patient and evading detection.

More attacks using built-in admin languages and tools
We see more exploits based on PowerShell, Microsoft’s language for automating administrative tasks. As a scripting language, PowerShell evades countermeasures focused on executables. We also see more attacks using penetration testing and other administrative tools that may already exist on the network, need not be infiltrated, and may not be suspected. These powerful tools require equally strong controls.

Ransomware evolves
As more users recognise the risks of ransomware attack via email, criminals are exploring other vectors. Some are experimenting with malware that reinfects later, long after a ransom is paid, and some are starting to use built-in tools and no executable malware at all to avoid detection by endpoint protection code that focuses on executable files.
Recent examples have offered to decrypt files after the victim shared the ransomware with two friends, and those friends paid to decrypt their files. Ransomware authors are also starting to use techniques other than encryption, for example deleting or corrupting file headers. And finally, with “old” ransomware still floating around the web, users may fall victim to attacks that can’t be “cured” because payment locations no longer work.
Emergence of personal IoT attacks. Users of home IoT devices may not notice or even care if their baby monitors are hijacked to attack someone else’s website. But once attackers “own” a device on a home network, they can compromise other devices, such as laptops containing important personal data. We expect to see more of this as well as more attacks that use cameras and microphones to spy on households. Cyber criminals always find a way to profit.

Growth of malvertising and corruption of online advertising ecosystems
Malvertising, which spreads malware through online ad networks and web pages, has been around for years. But in 2016, we saw much more of it. These attacks highlight larger problems throughout the advertising ecosystem, such as click fraud, which generates paying clicks that don’t correspond to real customer interest. Malvertising has actually generated click fraud, compromising users and stealing from advertisers at the same time.
The downside of encryption. As encryption becomes ubiquitous, it has become much harder for security products to inspect traffic, making it easier for criminals to sneak through undetected. Unsurprisingly, cybercriminals are using encryption in creative new ways. Security products will need to tightly integrate network and client capabilities, to rapidly recognize security events after code is decrypted on the endpoint.
Rising focus on exploits against virtualized and cloud systems. Attacks against physical hardware (e.g. Rowhammer) raise the possibility of dangerous new exploits against virtualized cloud systems. Attackers might abuse the host or other guests running on a shared host, attack privilege models, and conceivably access others’ data. And, as Docker and the entire container (or ‘serverless’) eco-system become more popular, attackers will increasingly seek to discover and exploit vulnerabilities in this relatively new trend in computing. We expect active attempts to operationalize such attacks.
Technical attacks against states and societies. Technology-based attacks have become increasingly political. Societies face growing risks from both disinformation (e.g., “fake news”) and voting system compromise. For instance, researchers have demonstrated attacks that might allow a local voter to fraudulently vote repeatedly without detection. Even if states never engage in attacks against their adversaries’ elections, the perception that these attacks are possible is itself a powerful weapon.

What can organisations do to protect against new threats?
Unfortunately, many organizations still don’t have their security basics right. We offer six measures organizations should put in place to help keep more complex threats at bay.
Moving from layered to integrated security. Many organizations now possess multiple solutions that were once best-in-breed but are now too costly and difficult to manage. Moving towards integrated solutions where all components communicate and work together will help to solve this. For example, if malware knocks an endpoint’s security software offline, network security should automatically quarantine that device, reducing the risk to your entire environment.
Deploying next-generation endpoint protection. As ransomware becomes ubiquitous and endpoints grow more diverse, organizations must refocus on endpoint protection. But signature-based solutions are no longer enough on their own, and can miss zero-day attacks. Choose solutions that recognize and prevent the techniques and behaviors used in nearly all exploits.