EXECUTIVE INSIGHT
– that ’ s when I started looking into 5G networks and mobile networking in general . Telecommunications has always been there for me in different forms , and the more I worked on the subject the more I realised how important it is to safeguard telecom systems .
Having worked on some projects on bringing security to 5G networks made it clear to me that securing these systems is challenging and requires highly effective solutions that should not be just add-ons , but must be essential parts of the core of any system where telecommunications software runs , from design to deployment .
Q . HOW DO YOU FEEL TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE UNDERPINS MODERN DIGITAL LIFE ?
» In today ’ s world , telco networks are critical to the way every organisation works and underpin essential public services from transport to health . When there ’ s an outage , it can have disastrous effects – everything from affecting medical equipment to paralysing transport networks to leaking sensitive information .
The amount of data held on telecom systems is enormous ; there is sensitive data on just about everyone on Earth , and any outage or data breach can have effects felt at the national scale , affecting millions .
Q . WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY WHEN IT COMES TO CYBERSECURITY ?
» Telco is among the most-targeted sectors globally for cybercriminals , and it ’ s not hard to see why .
“ In today ’ s world , telco networks are critical to the way every organisation works and underpin essential public services ”
Sensitive user information is carried at a massive scale on telecom networks , and that naturally makes them an attractive target for malicious actors . The increasing use of mobile devices for multi-factor authentication , across a wide variety of applications , makes telecom networks an even more tempting target .
The form these attacks take varies from attempts to disrupt or downgrade services , such as by using Distributed Denial of Service ( DDoS ) attacks , or attempts to breach private or sensitive data . Protecting against these threats is
16 March 2024