Initiatives of American Telecom Companies to Strengthen Cyber-Security in 2023

In the US, telecom companies have borne the brunt of increasing cyber-attacks. During the last few years, the country’s telecom industry has been a top-target for cyber-criminals.

The sector's attractiveness for cyber-criminals arises from the possibility of stealing sensitive customer, business, or government data due to the transmission of such data through the communication infrastructure.

In addition, the interconnectedness of networks enables the attackers to create significant damages with the least effort.

Understandably, any successful cyber-attack on the industry can allow cyber-criminals to steal information, such as names, phone numbers, emails, addresses, and other sensitive information of customers.

After accessing the customer information, cyber-criminals can use it to carry-out crimes, such as blackmailing the customers, stealing their money from the bank, etc.

Moreover, the criminals can blackmail businesses, or leak government decisions after stealing secret information through successful cyber-attacks.  

Due to the growing threats of cyber-criminals, American telecom companies have seriously and strongly addressed the pressing need to counter such attacks.

The industry has strengthened their efforts to foil the attempts of such criminals.

In the process, the companies have leveraged the latest technologies and automation to prevent successful cyber-attackers.

The industry has implemented an effective strategy to prevent such attacks for 2023.

Cyber-Threat Origins

Before discussing the strategy, let us discover the origin of cyber threats in the telecom industry.

Usually, cyber-threats in the telecom industry originate from:

#1. Supply Chain

 

Telecom companies usually depend on supplies of infrastructure and products by external vendors. And, that creates the opportunity for the vendors to leverage a weak link on the supply chain to pass the risk through the entire supply chain. For example, cyber-criminals hacked the Texas-based SolarWinds’ systems by adding malicious code.

#2. The Cloud

 

Several telecom companies use cloud-based infrastructure to run their operations. Although, the cloud is more secure than on-premise systems, a successful cyber-attack on the cloud servers can compromise the security of the associated virtual machines.

 

In addition, any misconfiguration in the cloud servers can allow cyber-attacks to infiltrate the systems.

 

#3. Internet-of-Things (IoT)

 

The predominance of IoT devices in the telecom industry has provided cyber-attackers another entry point to the telecom networks.

 

IoT allows cyber-attackers to spread malicious codes throughout the network to attack the associated systems.

 

#4. Phishing

 

Phishing is another growing threat for the telecom companies. In the Phishing attack, cyber-criminals send provoking emails to different employees of telecom companies to lure them to click a malicious link, or open a harmful attachment. 

 

If the target employees do so, malicious codes will spread across the systems.

 

#5. 5G Technology

 

The advancement of the 5G technology has also provided a room for cyber-attackers to successfully carry out their attacks on the telecom networks, and systems. Given the possibility, the attackers can leverage loopholes in the 5G wireless networks to extract sensitive information.

 

The Counter Strategies for 2023

 

A strategic counter gameplan by the American telcos is in the motion to strengthen their defence against cyber-attacks.

 

The key components of the counter-strategy are as the following:

 

Early Detection

 

Telecom companies in the US have laid stress on detecting possible cyber-attacks beforehand. 

 

So, the telcos have implemented anti-malware software, risk analytics, and Machine Learning (ML) to prevent their network infrastructure from cyber-attacks.

 

As a result of the implementation, the companies can get early warnings of possible attacks, enabling them to take counter measures before the occurrence of the actual attack. 

 

In addition, such counter measures enable the companies identify risky user behaviour. 

 

Therefore, the telcos can set-into-motion remedial measures before such users become successful in their possible attacks.

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

 

The telcos are increasingly leveraging the AI technology to guard their infrastructure against cyber criminals.

 

ML algorithms can detect fraudulent activities, such as unauthorized network infringement, data theft, robocalls, etc., in the real time and alert the telecom operator and customers.

 

Guarding Against 5G Risks

 

To counter the risks arising from the 5G technology, American telecom operators have increasingly implemented the zero-trust architecture.

 

In the architecture, the security protocols assume that malicious attackers have access to the network.

 

In addition, the telcos have implemented the Security Edge Protection Proxies (SEPP) technology, which provides top-notched application layer securities, end-to-end authentication, and eavesdropping protections.

 

Besides, the implementation of sophisticated network automation tools by American telecom companies has helped them to generate threat intelligence analytics and automatic countering of threats.

 

Banning Chinese Equipment

 

The US government has banned the usage of telecom equipment made by a few Chinese companies to safeguard the country's telecom industry from cyber-security risks.

 

The ban is due to China being a potential source of cyber-attacks on the US telecom industry for long.

 

Round-the-Clock Network Monitoring

 

Tracking the networks round-the-clock has become one of the key strategies to prevent security breaches in the telecom infrastructure. With automated monitoring systems, telecom companies in the US keep a tight vigil over the network functioning round-the-clock. The systems alert the security teams of any suspicious activities.  

 

Empowering Security Team

 

American telcos have empowered their security teams with the best practices and the latest technologies to detect and handle cyber-attacks.

Conclusion

 

The American telecom industry has stepped up efforts to counter the growing risks of cyber-attacks. As part of the efforts, the industry has set-in-motion impactful cybersecurity strategies, employee awareness campaigns, and using the right technology. At the same time, cyber- attackers will also implement intelligent network infringement techniques. So, the success rate of the telecom companies' cyber-security initiatives for 2023 will be visible by the end of the year.