“ Telecom operators have to safeguard not just infrastructure software but also the running instances ”
bodies so that telecom operators can be sure their systems are equipped with the latest security features and cryptographic measures .
Q . HOW CAN AUTOMATED VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT AND OS HARDENING STRENGTHEN CYBER DEFENCE WITHIN THE INDUSTRY ?
» Today ’ s software landscape has grown extremely complex , with solutions often having overlapping and conflicting constraints . That means that robust automated security systems with standardised mechanisms are helpful .
Automation is particularly important in the case of operating system ( OS ) hardening . Otherwise , hardening and auditing the OS for every deployment is not only extremely tedious , but also prone to errors due to the large number of steps in the process . Operators need the ability to harden and audit in an automated way .
Automation is also vital when it comes to vulnerability management , removing repetitive steps which tend to introduce human error . It ’ s tricky to fix all vulnerabilities manually due
to the huge ecosystem of software sources . Virtual applications may have common vulnerability exposures ( CVEs ) and dealing with these manually is longwinded and difficult : assigning the task of fixing vulnerabilities to people is simply not scalable .
Q . WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE OF CYBERSECURITY NEEDS TO LOOK LIKE TO ENSURE TELCO SECURITY ?
» Going forward , telecoms will be central to emerging technologies such as smart cities and autonomous vehicles and the complexity of networks and software ecosystems is only going to continue growing . Attackers will also grow more sophisticated .
Thankfully , global governments have woken up to the critical nature of telecommunications networks in today ’ s society and are taking steps to work together to strengthen security in the face of burgeoning risks . The arrival of a global organisation – Global Coalition on Telecommunications ( GCOT ) – is helping nations such as the UK and the US to work together on improving security in telecoms networks .
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