Growing Security Concerns and Opportunities for Telecoms

If most people did not worry much about security a few years ago, they certainly do now. With large scale breaches affecting corporate clients and individuals (the Facebook debacle), people are more concerned about security than they have ever been.

The good news for Telecoms at the moment is that no one is pointing the finger at them, yet. Apps giving access to third-parties are the ones bearing the bulk of the blame, and to some extent the operating system and even the brand of the phone. But very few people think that telecoms are responsible for any breaches.

One reason for this is that most web-related activities are being done via multiple devices, so a smartphone would not be the only device used to access social media or banking platforms.

However, as smartphones become more dominant as the primary internet-accessible device, it will fall squarely on mobile phone makers, app developers and eventually mobile carriers to protect people from cyber threats.

The First Line of Defence

Providing security in an age with more threats than ever is no small task, and one which telecom providers might not fancy being a part of. But the companies willing to get ahead of it and show proactive solutions will certainly benefit.

As the network-provider, we can expect that in the next few years, consumers would expect that the network should be the first line of defence. Before the message comes to their phone, before hackers can gain access to their browser history and plant any malware, the network should be virtually impenetrable.

While this is not a demand at the moment, that has mostly to do with the fact that most consumers are unware that telecom networks can be breached. Once this is realised, there will be immense pressure to keep lines secure at all times.

Keeping Your Network Secure

The ways in which networks can be penetrated and corrupted are growing astronomically. Packet loss and latency issues are usually at the fore of what mobile carriers concern themselves with.Very few are as concerned with fraudulent activity, which is a big mistake.

Compromised systems can give hackers complete access to your network, which usually leads to a loss of revenue. However, given the sophistication of newer viruses and malware, hackers could potentially have access to your client’s numbers and even their personal details.

Global telecoms suffered loss from fraudulent activity to the tune of $160 billion in 2016, and this is just for the frauds we are aware of. It is uncertain what the actual figure is, as some breaches are not discovered for years.

It will only be a matter of time until these breaches compromise clients, granting hackers access to their identity and financial information. Unless something is done about it now.

Protecting Yourself

The only way for a telecom company to survive the impending onslaught is to be a few steps ahead. It is impossible for a company to provide what it lacks itself.

The most effective way to do this is to have regular checks on your system to ensure you are entirely protected. If you have not had a Quality of Service test in the past quarter, contact Route Test for a thorough evaluation.

Our system checks are 100% effective and have helped clients save not just their revenue, but also their clients and their reputations.

Contact Route Test now for a no obligation consultation.