David Higgins, EMEA Technical
Director at CyberArk
industry unlocked
With an abundance of sensitive data in their
possession, telecommunications companies
are under attack by cybercriminals. David
Higgins, EMEA Technical Director at CyberArk,
argues there is a need for telecommunications
companies to sharpen their cybersecurity but
is confident that with the right approach they
can minimise the threats.
C
44
Connectivity as a concept has become an
essential part of life, as opposed to just a luxury.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has already become
commonplace in our lives, thanks to all the
connected devices and smart technologies we
own, interacting with one another to create a fully
connected network. With the global number of
IoT devices projected to triple by 2025 and 5G
technologies very soon to become a cohesive part
of the UK’s telecoms infrastructure, as a country
we will soon be more connected than ever.
day to day lives, playing a pivotal role
in the creation of Smart Cities and
infrastructure, connected vehicles, digital
healthcare, smart homes and more, at
a pace that is hard to keep up with. 5G
is also being rolled out at the same time
as the IoT reaches its peak, ensuring
substantial potential disruption.
Constant connectivity provides opportunities
for innovation and modernisation. Conversely,
though, it also creates cybersecurity threats that
can compromise extremely sensitive information. Similarly, Over-the-Top (OTT) businesses
– content providers that distribute
messaging and streaming media over
the Internet – are booming. Years after
Yahoo! Messenger and AOL’s AIM came
and went, they keep finding new ways to
undermine CSPs’ business models.
With the world heading swiftly into an age of
ever-more-enhanced connectivity, individuals
and organisations need to familiarise themselves
with these developing threats and the volatile
landscape, while ensuring they have a robust way
to protect themselves against these threats. Tencent, the parent company of Chinese
messaging platform, WeChat, currently
has a market cap of over £300 billion
(compared to Verizon’s £190 billion) and
the meteoric rise of OTT streaming players
like Netflix has been well documented.
Finding a place for CSPs in a
volatile landscape And, of course, the counterpoint to all
this innovation is that cyberattacks are
more prolific than ever, displaying ever-
evolving tactics as cybercriminals learn
and adapt. Telecoms companies are
frequently targeted because they build,
control and operate critical infrastructure
that is widely used to communicate and
store large amounts of sensitive data for
consumers, businesses and government.
Communications services providers (CSPs)
specialising in mobile services, media or web
services live in a world of relentless innovation. A
need to stay relevant forces CSPs to deliver value
beyond basic connectivity. This opens lucrative
new markets and opportunities for all industries.
The IoT industry will play a pivotal role in
these innovations. The technology is on track
to embed itself into countless aspects of our
Data breaches or denial of service
attacks on CSPs can reverberate far
Issue 23
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