It’s important to note that the dramatic rise in mobile speeds is an outcome of the broad adoption of 4G and LTE networks by telecommunications providers. When large-scale deployments of 5G networks become available toward the end of this decade, mobile speeds are expected to become comparable to fixed network speeds. According to the current Mobile VNI Forecast, global mobile traffic will likely gain a greater share of total IP traffic when 5G is broadly adopted. Global mobile traffic was 5 percent of total IP traffic in 2015, according to the VNI Forecast; it is projected to be 16 percent of total IP traffic by 2020.

It’s clear that security organizations must step up their maturity efforts, and quickly, if they are to match the growth in Internet traffic, which portends growth in the potential attack surface. In addition, organizations must respond to the growth in the use of endpoints that are not fixed or wired to corporate networks. They must also accommodate a more widespread use of personal devices from which workers access corporate data.

Faster speeds are not the only factor driving growth of Internet traffic. The IoT is accelerating the number of devices that are attached to the Internet, not only adding to the growth of traffic but also adding potential pathways for attackers.

For more information about the Cisco VNI Forecast, visit the Cisco website or read the Cisco blog post on the annual VNI forecast for 2015 to 2020.

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