User Privacy, Identity and Trust in 5G 271
In many cases, the patient wants to restrict some particular information to certain people such as doctors, specific family members or friends. But malicious users or unauthorized persons may access the information and use it for unethical purposes. Another
such example of privacy breaches can be the purchasing of anything on a consistent
basis, like any particular type of food that may reveal religion or health information.
In 5G networks, for many cases, the privacy protection requirements are also dependent on the usage of the particular access technology. Because the element of heterogeneity will be available at much higher rates, along with multiple access technologies it
will be used to obtain the required services. User data will be traversed in various access
networks in 5G and different vendors will provide the functional entities for the network. As a possibility, by using data‐mining methodologies, a third party can derive
user personal information by analyzing the user disperse data, which might be available
on any part of the network. Because of the risk of such scenarios, more rigorous data
privacy protection schemes are required for 5G networks [7].
It is important to formulate strong data protection mechanisms while discussing
standardization and policy‐making for 5G technology. The service providers must also
explain ways of data collection and its use for various services. There should be a balance between the user privacy and data used by the service providers, so that companies
can build novel and useful applications for the user and at the same time, user privacy
should not be affected. Accountability mechanisms should be involved so that monitoring of each action by various entities will be easy. Data minimization techniques should
also take into account such that companies/service providers/third parties limit the
data they collect and retain, and dispose it once they no longer need it.
12.3.2 Location Privacy
Nowadays, several smart devices such as smartphones, tablets and wearables, which
have powerful computational and storage capabilities along with positioning technology, can request services at anytime and anywhere. Location Based Services (LBS) are
popularly used with respect to the development of future wireless technology. With the
introduction of 5G, which will enable seamless and continuous availability of services,
the location of the user is also continuously monitored in such cases. In order to provide
improved services, various companies have also started to track the current location of
the user. From this information, they are constantly monitoring the habits and routine
of the user. At one hand, this kind of tracking service helps companies to improve their
services and to build new user‐friendly services. However, on the other hand, it raises
serious concerns over user privacy.
Also, many online apps on mobile devices require location information along with
their personal information. In some cases, location information of the user is taken, no
matter whether it is to be used or not. These online apps want more and more information with each of their updates. Nowadays, the social media applications like Facebook
also have the option “check‐in”, where users are sharing their current locations. This will
raise concerns over tracking of user movements by observing the location information
constantly. Recently, wearable devices are also actively used for tracking purposes, such
as tracking children and pets. These wearable devices are tracking the respective user
every second and that also raised huge privacy concerns.
In many cases, the patient wants to restrict some particular information to certain people such as doctors, specific family members or friends. But malicious users or unauthorized persons may access the information and use it for unethical purposes. Another
such example of privacy breaches can be the purchasing of anything on a consistent
basis, like any particular type of food that may reveal religion or health information.
In 5G networks, for many cases, the privacy protection requirements are also dependent on the usage of the particular access technology. Because the element of heterogeneity will be available at much higher rates, along with multiple access technologies it
will be used to obtain the required services. User data will be traversed in various access
networks in 5G and different vendors will provide the functional entities for the network. As a possibility, by using data‐mining methodologies, a third party can derive
user personal information by analyzing the user disperse data, which might be available
on any part of the network. Because of the risk of such scenarios, more rigorous data
privacy protection schemes are required for 5G networks [7].
It is important to formulate strong data protection mechanisms while discussing
standardization and policy‐making for 5G technology. The service providers must also
explain ways of data collection and its use for various services. There should be a balance between the user privacy and data used by the service providers, so that companies
can build novel and useful applications for the user and at the same time, user privacy
should not be affected. Accountability mechanisms should be involved so that monitoring of each action by various entities will be easy. Data minimization techniques should
also take into account such that companies/service providers/third parties limit the
data they collect and retain, and dispose it once they no longer need it.
12.3.2 Location Privacy
Nowadays, several smart devices such as smartphones, tablets and wearables, which
have powerful computational and storage capabilities along with positioning technology, can request services at anytime and anywhere. Location Based Services (LBS) are
popularly used with respect to the development of future wireless technology. With the
introduction of 5G, which will enable seamless and continuous availability of services,
the location of the user is also continuously monitored in such cases. In order to provide
improved services, various companies have also started to track the current location of
the user. From this information, they are constantly monitoring the habits and routine
of the user. At one hand, this kind of tracking service helps companies to improve their
services and to build new user‐friendly services. However, on the other hand, it raises
serious concerns over user privacy.
Also, many online apps on mobile devices require location information along with
their personal information. In some cases, location information of the user is taken, no
matter whether it is to be used or not. These online apps want more and more information with each of their updates. Nowadays, the social media applications like Facebook
also have the option “check‐in”, where users are sharing their current locations. This will
raise concerns over tracking of user movements by observing the location information
constantly. Recently, wearable devices are also actively used for tracking purposes, such
as tracking children and pets. These wearable devices are tracking the respective user
every second and that also raised huge privacy concerns.