In a new report, focused on the healthcare industry, found the primary use case was tele-emergency medical services.

In 2023, the primary use case reported by respondents was tele-emergency medical services, which involves diagnosis and providing initial care remotely to non-urgent cases by extending telemedicine capabilities to emergency medical staff in field situations. This represents a shift from the primary use case in the 2022 AT&T Cybersecurity Insights Report: Securing the Edge, which was focused on consumer virtual care. The driving force behind this change is the goal of enabling emergency personnel to make faster and more informed decisions.

Research for the report was conducted during July and August 2022 and 1,418 security practitioners were surveyed from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, India, Singapore and South Korea.

Key report highlights

• In 2023, the primary edge use case reported by respondents is tele-emergency medical services
• Engaging trusted advisors from internal and external sources is a priority for those embarking on an edge computing path.
• 64% rely on external expertise for project planning
• 71% seek guidance from outside trusted advisors during production
• Endpoint findings: Mobile devices are the top choice for the healthcare industry, accounting for 53% of the device category.
• 74% of respondents utilize 4G/LTE cellular networks for edge connectivity.
• 52% of the respondents are using a combined cybersecurity and networking function that is located on-premises.
• The top perceived threat in this context is an insider threat, highlighting the importance of addressing internal vulnerabilities in edge computing environments.