How to enhance resilience and security for telecom operators

The telecoms and digital industry have been facing increasingly complex regulatory and compliance challenges for many years. In addition, these companies and their customers are the target of a wide range of cyber and cyber-physical attacks, including acts of sabotage. The actors behind these attacks can be nation states or state-backed groups, but also criminal actors who also act from time to time as proxies for state actors.

Besides man-made activities, disruptions to digital systems are also caused by natural phenomena and, a growing new phenomenon, the gray area between natural and man-made causes, triggered by climate change. There have always been "natural" reasons for disruptions such as earthquakes and volcanic activities, but also floods, storms, forest fires, landslides, etc., but the increased severity and frequency of the second category of these disasters is closely linked to climate change. This needs to be differentiated as the causes and prevention are different.

The interplay between telecommunications and adjacent sectors such as finance, transport, etc. and the interdependence of the electricity and telecommunications ecosystems with cascading risks make a cross-sector strategy indispensable. Identifying and managing this complex threat landscape requires new analytical and strategic skills that are not always available in small and mid-sized companies. This includes the ability to recognize hybrid attack patterns, to analyze incidents through the lens of geopolitics and to develop bespoke mitigation measures. For the interested reader, a detailed white paper on the topic of "Security and resilience of digital systems", can be found here.

If you need assistance in identifying and managing your risk exposure and the relevance of these developments for your business, contact us at inquiries@weltwert-insights.com

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