Cybersecurity Trends in Telecom Industry
The telecommunications industry is the pillar of ongoing digital transformation and cybersecurity is one of the biggest threats to it. The telecom industry is continuously evolving and is expected to achieve unprecedented level of faster communications, however, it is also heavily susceptible to cyber-attacks due to massive amount of data generation and the critical communication infrastructure. The most common cyber-attacks observed in telecom space include Phishing, Malware, DDoS, Access Breach, Integrity Compromise, Social Engineering among few others. Such cyber-attacks result in traffic flooding, hardware vandalism, communication hijacking, data breach, implanting malicious codes in the software etc., causing major disruption across the communication network and data compromise by the user. With the onset of 5G, a fully connected environment is expected through several IoT devices, such as autonomous vehicles and industrial automation, smart grid, smart cities etc. However, it will in turn make telecom operators more vulnerable to cyber-attacks and offer cyber attackers with new ways to infiltrate the network and other system vulnerabilities, thereby indicating the dire need of a robust cybersecurity framework. Several attempts are being made both by the telecom operators and cybersecurity vendors to build robust solutions adhering to the network specification as allocated by the 3GPP. There are several trends which to lead to focusing the cybersecurity aspects on the current telecom industry. Trends Increased usage of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques to strengthen the network security and management Most of the telecommunication companies rely on the usage of artificial intelligence-based platforms to enhance the network security, data security analytics. The technology offers massive benefits such as network automation, predictive maintenance, and network management, however, managing the enormous amount of data generated by the telecom operators is a huge challenge. These AI and ML algorithms record the anomalies observed in the regular data patterns of the network and minimizes the risks of data breach both in realtime and future. Such potentials of the AI technology are not hidden from the cybercriminals. By using these techniques, they incorporate several malicious software on the customer’s device, resulting in the compromised data security of the user. Proliferation of IoT devices for a more connected network The shift towards the hybrid work culture has fueled the usage of IoT devices. By using a fully connected network IoT is transforming the way businesses functions. Devices such as smart watches, autonomous vehicles, smart grid, to smart cities are witnessing an up surge, thereby generating the need of a ubiquitous and secure network. However, due to complicated nature of IoT devices they have become a prime target for the cyber criminals. The essential security concerns with the proliferation of IoT devices includes ensuring