September 2022 | Globe Teleservice

The Security Imperative for Telcos Providing Enterprise Solutions

In the pursuit of digital transformation, there is a growing industry demand for enterprise solutions and services from the telecom sector. In the “new” post-COVID economy, existing enterprise solutions do not meet the changing market demands. And mobile apps like Facetime enable innovative communication capabilities, thus impacting the “traditional” telecom industry.

Hence, we are seeing more telecom companies offering enterprise solutions in the form of managed services, storage solutions, and small business services. The latest reports estimate that the telecom enterprise services market is expected to reach $237 billion by 2025.

With the continuous growth of 5G services and IoT connectivity, the telecom infrastructure and services could be targeted by hackers. A successful breach can seriously impact internet connectivity and compromise sensitive information.

In the face of cybersecurity challenges, communication service providers (CSPs) are looking at security-related services as an opportunity for revenue growth. In fact, for CSPs, the revenue for security services grew by a healthy 20% in 2020.

That being so, what are the major security challenges that telecom companies must address, and how? Let’s discuss.

Security Challenges in the Telecom Sector

For major economies, the telecom sector is often the “gateway” for cyberattacks. The growing use of telecom networks and sensitive information is highly attractive to cybercriminals. As online threats grow more complex, the telecom industry must develop higher resiliency against external and internal threats.

Here are some of the leading security challenges in the telecom industry:

1. IoT Security Threats

With over 16 billion connected devices, Internet-of-Things (IoT) networks create more entry points for smart hackers. According to recent reports, security cameras in home networks are the most vulnerable IoT devices, followed by smart hubs like Amazon Alexa.

2. Insider Threats

In the post-pandemic environment, a good portion of the organizational workforce is operating from remote locations. This has increased the number of unsecured networks. The challenge is that most employees are unable to detect insider threats.

Additionally, most user applications do not implement security measures like data encryption. Cloud-powered authentication (including biometric security) can protect user data from insider threats.

3. External Cyberattacks

Cyberattacks like DDoS and DNS attacks continue to grow each year. In 2018, telecom companies were the target of nearly 65% of DDoS attacks. Going by global estimates, DNS attacks exposed 79% of business enterprises in 2020. Additionally, reports state that the telecommunication sector was the most targeted industry for DDoS attacks in the first half of 2021. Recent ransomware incidents have been large and wide ranging in scope.

Telecom companies continue to use dated network protocols like SS7 (Signalling system 7), which make their networks vulnerable to external cyberattacks. The good part is that the majority of telecom companies have implemented security measures for SS7 attacks.

Besides these security challenges, telecom companies must address third-party risks arising from external parties like vendors, partners, hosting companies, and contractors. Attackers can access telecom infrastructures using third-party tools as the “backdoor.”

How can Telecom companies meet these security expectations? Let’s discuss it next.

How Telecom Companies Can Meet Security-Related Expectations

With millions of global customers, the telecom industry is probably the largest collector of customer data, including financial and personal information. Additionally, telecom companies are required to protect sensitive data under various regulations like GDPR (in the EU) and APPI (in Japan). Any compliance failure can result in heavy penalties and loss of business trust.

To fulfil their increasing security-related expectations, telecom companies can consider the following actions:

Protecting Sensitive Data

As discussed previously, the human factor is responsible for most of the insider threats. Using data loss prevention (DLP) solutions, telecom companies can limit human involvement and damage. Effectively, DLP solutions directly protect sensitive data. These solutions can monitor files with sensitive information and limit any data transfer.

Cross-Platform Security

Security solutions mostly focus on a particular operating system or platform. However, the reality is that any IT infrastructure in any telecom company comprises a mix of operating systems and platforms.

Cross-platform security solutions provide all-around protection across multiple operating systems and platforms. With cross-platform security, telecom companies can protect sensitive data stored in all IT environments.

Additionally, telecom service providers can implement a holistic approach to security across the following four key areas:

Telecom standardization process consists of secure protocols, storage, and algorithms.
Product development process includes securing the hardware & software components, development process, software updates, and version control.
Deployment process includes a secure network design, security parameter configuration, and hardening measures.
Operations process consists of securing operational procedures and monitoring the security performance, vulnerabilities, and external attacks.

Conclusion

As more telecom companies provide enterprise solutions, they must integrate the security aspect. However, there is no quick fix to safeguard applications and sensitive data from external threats. Telecom companies must go beyond basic measures like firewalls and anti-malware tools to address their security needs.

At Globe Teleservices, we are partnering with a host of telecom companies and empowering them to meet their security requirements.

We can help you achieve optimum efficiency. Reach out to us with your business needs.

How the Evolving Threat Scenario Has Made MFA Necessary

The focus on security is rising as businesses digitally transform, the world of work globally evolves, and collaboration across borders proliferates to drive innovation.

Business employees today are no longer operating on their networks when accessing data or applications. Therefore, there’s a growing concern about data breaches and ransomware — mandating data and privacy compliance regulations to standardize robust security policies.

To that end, enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) has become non-negotiable to increase protection against cyber-attacks, phishing, data breaches, etc.

The ABC of MFA

The digital landscape encourages consumers to use the web and mobile applications to access various services. Businesses, as such, are at a greater liability to store data securely and ensure that cybercriminals don’t exploit user login to gain entry into critical systems.

Regrettably, password or username-based authentication is now unreliable and unwieldy. Such authentication systems make it difficult for users to remember and manage passwords across multiple accounts — precisely why they start repeating them.

Passwords lacking complexity further weaken security and make it easy for malicious elements to acquire data and information using malware, hacking, and phishing. Mobile number frauds, for example, can have devastating effects. Scammers can access bank accounts, social media, emails, and more, causing havoc. As more enterprise users employ mobile and personal devices, the data across enterprise networks needs to be secured.

Therefore, MFA authentication becomes essential as a part of a security strategy since it employs multiple methods to affirm identity and authority. For businesses offering telecom services, including virtual networks of any size, implementing MFA assures data and information security.

Phone-based authentication has become predominant since the rise of smartphones, and as such, global lawmakers are treating MFA more like a necessity. Australia, for example, is looking at making MFA mandatory for telcos. In Australia, number porting now needs mobile companies to verify users and subscribers in several different ways to identify fraud and discourage fraudsters who scam mobile phone users.

Two-factor authentication is one of the most common forms of MFA. While 2-FA is better than simple passwords, telcos now also need to enable hardware and software authentication tokens generated with a mobile app. For this, telecom operators have to ensure that they are employing a platform that allows them to enable MFA easily while giving them proactive insights into any anomaly that could signal a potential breach.

Employing an MFA platform that helps users and future-proofs businesses is emerging as a strategic priority — this explains its soaring market value (at over 10% CAGR).

However, this platform must deliver comprehensive services that enable end-to-end multi-factor authentication. This includes token generation, token delivery, and token authentication.

Deliver a Multi-Layered Protection Framework

The MFA platform has to deliver a multi-layered protection framework that verifies the user and identifies the transaction identities of the user.

It must also employ a zero-trust framework since the security perimeters have now blurred with rising smartphone proliferation. A zero-trust framework enables agility, visibility, and greater control and makes it easier to improve the security stand by helping businesses stay ahead of the threats curve.

Enable Token-Based Authentication

MFA platforms must allow businesses to enable token-based authentication and simplify the authentication process. Token-based authentication sends a request to the server employing a username and a password. The server validates this input based on the values registered in the credential database. Once confirmed, the server responds with a token.

An MFA platform must allow businesses to generate time-based tokens to prevent misuse. Besides, it is essential for the token length and expiry time to be configurable according to the needs of the business.

Allow Multi-Channel Token Delivery

Token delivery has to be reliable, scalable, and secure. The MFA platform thus has to employ a robust token delivery system that uses multiple channels such as SMS, Flash Calls, data Voice, email, Push Notification, and operator verification.

Enabling concurrent delivery of OTPs on two or more channels further increases security and impedes malicious efforts.

Identify Anomalies and Offer Intelligent Insights

MFA platforms have to employ new-age technologies like AI and ML to proactively identify anomalous behavior on the network. These technologies can also be used to identify changes or drifts in customer behavior to make security more proactive.

The platform should also offer clear and detailed, data-backed insights. Identifying the preferred and most cost-effective channel for OTP messages and gaining insights into a delivery percentage, average cost saved, and top 5 error codes of failure on SMS, Voice, Flash Call, and Email become essential to improve security and cost efficiencies.

Moreover, such platforms must ensure that they enhance user experience over the authentication journey. This includes having mechanisms that allow Mobile Out of Coverage messages and information on failed past transactions over the selected channel.

In case of an undelivered OTP or if an OTP input doesn’t happen in time over a specific channel, the platform should have a CTA that tries out other OTP channels, such as Flash Call or Voice dial-in.

In a Nutshell

As an enterprise’s financial and social transactions move online, telcos and many other industries must look at their authentication systems and evaluate if they can navigate the evolving threat landscape.

Operating systems, service providers, and account-based platforms need MFA. As such, experience in navigating the requirements and exceptions becomes essential.

We can help with that. Reach out to us today to explore more.