IOActive compared the security and performance of the WiFi and 5G wireless protocols by simulating several different network types and reproducing attacks from current academic research in a Dell-commissioned study. In total, 536 hours of testing was performed between January and February 2024 comparing each technologies’ susceptibility to five categories of attack: user tracking, sensitive data interception, user impersonation, network impersonation, and denial of service.
IOActive concluded that a typical standalone 5G network is more resilient against the five categories of attack than a typical WiFi network. Attacks against a 5G network generally had higher skill, cost, and effort requirements than equivalent attacks against a WiFi network.
Our performance comparison was based on measuring throughput and latency in several different urban and rural settings. We found that although WiFi supported significantly higher speeds than 5G at close proximity, 5G provided a more reliable connection over greater distances.
AUTHORS:
– Ethan Shackelford, IOActive Associate Principal Security Consultant
– James Kulikowski, IOActive Senior Security Consultant
– Vince Marcovecchio, IOActive Senior Security Consultant