The new 5G network standard could transfer data up to ten times faster than the 4G standard, and will have much lower latency. This will make it appropriate for use in new technologies, such as autonomous vehicles.

Gary Davis, McAfee’s chief consumer security evangelist, said that while 5G would be a step forward for users, it also came with risks: “What’s going to happen is 5G is going to kick off like wildfire – everything’s going to be connected up to 5G networks,” he said.

“The bad guys are going to think ‘what’s the weakest point to get into the business or the home?’, use that as a point of entry, sniff around and find what they want and the data is going to be out before you even know it because of the zero latency you have with 5G.”

Raj Samani, chief scientist at McAfee added that the work the cybersecurity industry does was crucial to combat this.

“If we don’t have strong cybersecurity and strong privacy, you’re not going to buy a self-driving car,” he said. “You’re not going to have a fully automated power plant, none of it’s going to exist without the foundation that this industry does.

“We need to have security and privacy integrated into every part of our life, it should be there throughout. There’s no point saying it should’ve been there before, we need to start doing as much as we can today.”

The experts said the average internet user was still making basic security errors such as using the same password in multiple places, which was fuelling crime online.

Samani said: “You could stop the majority of cybercrime if people had strong passwords, they didn’t have the same passwords on every account, they didn’t click on every link. These simple things that we’ve been saying for 30 years. It is about getting that message across to people, showing them the vulnerabilities, the hacks that exist.”

“The objective isn’t to scare people, the objective is to get people to understand that this is the reality of what’s going on. We don’t want you to be scared about using a mobile phone – you’re going to use a mobile phone – but here’s the threat. These are the detections, these are the banking attacks that are happening.”

The pair were speaking during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona: a major technology trade show where upcoming innovations in consumer technology are demonstrated.

The next generation of 5G phones have been a major talking point, along with devices equipped with foldable screens allowing larger displays to fit into users’ pockets.

The new 5G network standard could transfer data up to ten times faster than the 4G standard, and will have much lower latency. This will make it appropriate for use in new technologies, such as autonomous vehicles.

Gary Davis, McAfee’s chief consumer security evangelist, said that while 5G would be a step forward for users, it also came with risks: “What’s going to happen is 5G is going to kick off like wildfire – everything’s going to be connected up to 5G networks,” he said.

“The bad guys are going to think ‘what’s the weakest point to get into the business or the home?’, use that as a point of entry, sniff around and find what they want and the data is going to be out before you even know it because of the zero latency you have with 5G.”

Raj Samani, chief scientist at McAfee added that the work the cybersecurity industry does was crucial to combat this.

“If we don’t have strong cybersecurity and strong privacy, you’re not going to buy a self-driving car,” he said. “You’re not going to have a fully automated power plant, none of it’s going to exist without the foundation that this industry does.

“We need to have security and privacy integrated into every part of our life, it should be there throughout. There’s no point saying it should’ve been there before, we need to start doing as much as we can today.”

The experts said the average internet user was still making basic security errors such as using the same password in multiple places, which was fuelling crime online.

Samani said: “You could stop the majority of cybercrime if people had strong passwords, they didn’t have the same passwords on every account, they didn’t click on every link. These simple things that we’ve been saying for 30 years. It is about getting that message across to people, showing them the vulnerabilities, the hacks that exist.”

“The objective isn’t to scare people, the objective is to get people to understand that this is the reality of what’s going on. We don’t want you to be scared about using a mobile phone – you’re going to use a mobile phone – but here’s the threat. These are the detections, these are the banking attacks that are happening.”

The pair were speaking during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona: a major technology trade show where upcoming innovations in consumer technology are demonstrated.

The next generation of 5G phones have been a major talking point, along with devices equipped with foldable screens allowing larger displays to fit into users’ pockets.