As carrier networking has evolved, operators have seen new security threats grow, such as via instant messaging.
“Spammers are sending to IM asking people to go a site, for example,” said Ciaran Bradley, VP of handset security at AdaptiveMobile. At this week’s Mobile World Congress event, the mobile security company issued a research report on cross-border threats.
With threats no longer confined to signalling attacks on their network or internal fraud, telecom operators are now facing sophisticated attacks with the rapid emergence of the “borderless network.” AdaptiveMobile noted that security threats are no longer limited by national boundaries or network bearers, as cyber criminals use social networks, instant messaging, over-the-top services and smartphone apps as integrated attack vectors into and across a modern telecom network.
In addition, the security company said the complexity of such attacks has the potential to explode as operators hasten to roll out rich communication services, and deliver faster, all-IP LTE networks in their attempt to respond to the risk of marginalization caused by OTT operators.
“The raise of treats was driven by the explosion of smartphone, the increase of smartphone penetration and the carriers’ competition is driving price of SMS down, so spammers can send thousands of short message costing little and they can get return of their money,” noted Bradley.
Bradley stated that carriers should increase the protection of their networks as they move to all-IP networks. “There are more threats now than before. Telecom operators should protect themselves from attacks and to stop threats. It represents big savings for customers,” he said.
