{"id":15449,"date":"2021-06-07T22:14:16","date_gmt":"2021-06-07T16:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cigniti.com\/blog\/?p=15449"},"modified":"2024-01-17T15:37:39","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T10:07:39","slug":"blueprint-cyber-threats-security-telecom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/blueprint-cyber-threats-security-telecom\/","title":{"rendered":"Blueprint for Managing Cyber Threats and Security in Telecom Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"
Telecommunications have become the linchpin of our times\u00a0as\u00a0everything associated with the internet\u00a0is\u00a0being driven by technology.<\/p>\n
Virtually running the globe, the telecom industry has become an intrinsic part of our lives.<\/p>\n
Telecommunications play a critical role in sending emails, making video calls, hosting websites and applications on servers, interacting on social media, or carrying out myriad transactions through applications.<\/p>\n
The importance of this industry has become\u00a0more\u00a0evident during the pandemic-induced lockdowns, where internet-based services driven by telecommunications have become people’s lifeline.<\/p>\n
So, when so many rides on this tech-driven industry, it has become a favorite hunting ground for threat actors.<\/p>\n
No wonder the role of telecom network testing has assumed significance.<\/p>\n
According to\u00a0Kaspersky\u00a0Labs<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0\u201cCybercriminals are using the \u2018weakest link in the telecom chain\u2019 \u2013 the employees \u2013 to commit crimes.<\/em><\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n This is because the telecom sector operates complex networks and stores sensitive personal and corporate data.<\/p>\n Also, since telecom is often the gateway to the core infrastructure of various businesses, cybercriminals can carry out a range of criminal activities.<\/p>\n These may include intercepting calls, accessing data, and impersonating and controlling subscribers.<\/p>\n The scope and sophistication of the emerging threat scenario associated with the telecom industry result from legacy technology, the increased role of cloud-based technologies, a growing volume of data and voice transmissions, and outdated signaling protocols.<\/p>\n Per\u00a0Gartner<\/em><\/strong>, \u201cCybersecurity is the combination of people, policies, processes, and technologies employed by an enterprise to protect its cyber assets. Cybersecurity is optimized to levels that business leaders define, balancing the resources required with usability\/manageability and the amount of risk offset. Subsets of cybersecurity include IT security, IoT security, information security and OT security.<\/em><\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Importantly, with 5G technology in the offing where communications and data transmission are going to be redefined and recalibrated, testing 5G networks has assumed increased salience.<\/p>\n Several tenacious and evolving threats continue to upsurge cybersecurity risks inside the telecommunications industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n The most archetypal threats influence time-tested attack trajectories to target telecom operators.<\/p>\n Cybercriminals are targeting the telecom network security infrastructures to cause data breaches and damage the network using various tools, techniques, and measures.<\/p>\n The top 5 cyber threats and the ways to mitigate them are mentioned below:<\/p>\n In this attack, threat actors take advantage of the existing vulnerabilities in the Domain Name System or DNS, which is a protocol that translates a \u2018user-friendly\u2019 domain name into a \u2018computer-friendly\u2019 IP address.<\/p>\n Since DNS is primarily designed for usability rather than security, cybercriminals use back-and-forth communication between clients and servers.<\/p>\n Here, malevolent actors try to divert traffic coming from a legitimate source to a malicious destination. Unfortunately, DNS attacks are the most common cyber threats that telecom companies face.<\/p>\n The solutions involve a series of best practices for\u00a0telecom network testing<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks,\u00a0multiple systems try to overwhelm the resources or bandwidth of a targeted approach using one or more unique IP addresses from scores of malware-infected hosts.<\/p>\n The solutions to prevent such attacks are as follows:<\/p>\n In most VoIP communications, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is increasingly targeted by cybercriminals.<\/p>\n Here, non-standard messages containing invalid inputs are sent, making the system unstable.<\/p>\n The\u00a0software testing for telecom\u00a0<\/strong>solutions involves the following:<\/p>\n With an estimated 25 billion IoT devices to be connected to the telecom networks at 5G penetration, as per Gartner,\u00a0testing 5G networks\u00a0has become a priority for telecom companies.<\/p>\n This might give rise to cyber threats such as eavesdropping attacks, network congestion, Sybil attacks, routine attacks, and node jamming.<\/p>\n The solutions include:<\/p>\n Still many telecom services are driven by SS7 or Diameter protocols. These outdated protocols, especially in banking, attract cybercriminals to intercept 2FA authentication and breach users\u2019 data.<\/p>\n The best practices to mitigate such threats are as follows:<\/p>\n With the advent of 5G and related increases in IoT devices, telecom companies must invest in\u00a0telecom application testing services<\/a>\u00a0to prevent threat actors from striking.<\/p>\n According to\u00a0Dan Bieler<\/em><\/strong>, Principal Analyst,\u00a0Forrester<\/em><\/strong>, \u201cMore than ever before,\u00a0telcos\u00a0are embracing new technologies and experimenting with new business concepts. This, in turn, offers opportunities for enterprise customers to work with\u00a0telcos\u00a0as partners for their digital transformation<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n The measures to counter cybercriminals should be proactive, involving extensive monitoring, conducting proper risk assessments, and automating the core security requirements.<\/p>\n These\u00a0cyber-threats\u00a0should be countered by implementing rigorous software testing solutions for the telecom industry.<\/p>\n As most 5G applications are industry-specific and link closely to business outcomes, ensuring successful deployments and unlocking new innovations is imperative.<\/p>\n Organizations could use the benefits of 5G to their advantage and gain an edge against competitors.<\/p>\n While the emergence of new technologies has vast advantages,\u00a0it also\u00a0comes with\u00a0new twists in\u00a0intricacy\u00a0and scale. These hacks\u00a0necessitate\u00a0telecom network security teams to stay\u00a0efficient\u00a0and abreast of\u00a0novel\u00a0threats and\u00a0susceptibilities.<\/p>\n Cigniti\u2019s Security Testing and web application penetration testing uncovers application vulnerabilities, minimizes application risks, and benchmarks your software code for increased quality assurance.<\/p>\n Our\u00a0Security Testing services<\/a>\u00a0across different industry verticals and enterprises ensure their cyber-safety, leading to robust brand image client retention.<\/p>\n Would you be interested in a 5G offering to measure customer experience and provide a sentiment view on a given consumer\u2019s experience? An offering that can help you take the lead in the digital race by generating digital customer satisfaction scores and ratings\/sentiment prediction?<\/p>\n To know more\u00a0about managing cyber threats and security in telecom, talk to our\u00a0security testing<\/a> experts. They will help you provide a solution for your business and\u00a0demonstrate how to scale the quality of experience for 5G services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Telecommunications have become the linchpin of our times\u00a0as\u00a0everything associated with the internet\u00a0is\u00a0being driven by technology. Virtually running the globe, the telecom industry has become an intrinsic part of our lives. Telecommunications play a critical role in sending emails, making video calls, hosting websites and applications on servers, interacting on social media, or carrying out myriad […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":15450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2916,7],"tags":[3574,3570,3572,2943,3055,3060,3573,2938,3059,3571,2941,2940,3568,3569,2939],"ppma_author":[3727],"class_list":["post-15449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communications","category-security-testing","tag-automation-testing-telecom-domain","tag-security-in-telecom-industry","tag-security-in-telecommunications","tag-software-testing-for-communications-industry","tag-software-testing-for-telecom","tag-telecom-application-testing-services","tag-telecom-cybersecurity-testing","tag-telecom-domain-testing","tag-telecom-network-testing","tag-telecom-security-solutions","tag-telecom-software-testing","tag-telecommunication-software-testing","tag-testing-5-networks","tag-testing-services-for-communications-sector","tag-testing-telecom-domain"],"authors":[{"term_id":3727,"user_id":20,"is_guest":0,"slug":"cigniti","display_name":"About Cigniti (A Coforge Company)","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Coforge-blog-Logo.png","url2x":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Coforge-blog-Logo.png"},"user_url":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/","last_name":"(A Coforge Company)","first_name":"About Cigniti","job_title":"","description":"Cigniti Technologies Limited, a Coforge company, is the world\u2019s leading AI & IP-led Digital Assurance and Digital Engineering services provider. Headquartered in Hyderabad, India, Cigniti\u2019s 4200+ employees help Fortune 500 & Global 2000 enterprises across 25 countries accelerate their digital transformation journey across various stages of digital adoption and help them achieve market leadership by providing transformation services leveraging IP & platform-led innovation with expertise across multiple verticals and domains.\r\nTop cyber threats and solutions for telecom cyber security<\/h2>\n
DNS Attacks<\/h3>\n
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DDoS Attacks<\/h3>\n
\n
SIP Hacking<\/h3>\n
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IoT Network Security<\/h3>\n
\n
SS7 Signalling Threats<\/h3>\n
\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
\r\nLearn more about Cigniti at www.cigniti.com<\/a> and about Coforge at www.coforge.com<\/a>."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15449"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15449"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=15449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}