Make Telecom Security a 2021 Resolution
The global cybersecurity landscape was turned upside down following the recent SolarWinds cyberattack that affected approximately 18,000 businesses. With cybercriminals continuing to find new and effective ways to penetrate organizations, there’s no time to waste in securing your telecommunication environment, especially as Telecom Expense Management (TEM) vendors supply telecom services that are primarily web-based and accessible through the Internet. Statistics from PurpleSec indicate that 46% of cyberattacks against the financial sector in 2020 were web-based.
Cybersecurity has been made increasingly difficult by the coronavirus pandemic, forcing many businesses to shift to a remote working environment. Now, companies must not only safeguard their office spaces from potential data breaches, but also ensure their employees are following best security practices in the comfort of their own homes.
With so many access points via web-enabled devices, security breaches can occur from anywhere. There are significant reasons why a robust telecom security plan is a necessity for any telecom expense management plan in 2021 and beyond.
The Cost of a Security Breach
A single security breach results in significant financial ramifications. The IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2020 found that the average cost of a security breach is $3.86 million. What’s worse, according to the analysis, it takes organizations 280 days to contain these breaches.
What are the root causes behind companies’ failure to mitigate these security risks? The Verizon 2019 Data Breach Investigation Report found that 70% of data breaches are caused by outside parties and 43% of breaches occur via web applications. Between 2018 and 2019, the number of web-based application breaches more than doubled.
To stop outsiders from accessing sensitive data and minimize the financial impact that security breaches are having on their businesses, organizations are turning to a telecom security strategy where trust must be earned.
Zero-Trust Security
Zero-Trust Security is gaining steam among organizations attempting to minimize the many threats impacting their telecom operations. Gartner defines a zero-trust access network (ZTNA) as a network that establishes access boundaries around application(s) that hide or restrict public access to these apps.
This security approach also enables businesses to verify “the identity, context and policy adherence of the specified participants before allowing access and prohibits lateral movement elsewhere in the network. This removes application assets from public visibility and significantly reduces the surface area for attack.”
To achieve this zero-trust security model, businesses can implement various safeguards that will protect their telecom environments, including:
- Implementing multi-factor authentication
- Encrypting data
- Blocking infected devices from accessing corporate data
- Enforcing privileged access policies
With cyberattacks becoming more common and damaging, companies are responding by incorporating zero-trust security on a global scale. An Adroit Market Research report projects the zero-trust security market to expand at an annual compound growth rate of 17% between 2018 and 2025, reaching almost $38 billion by the end of this forecast period, solidifying this approach as a necessary solution in an increasingly complex security landscape.
Find a TEM Provider Who Prioritizes Security
The zero-trust security model makes it difficult to trust devices accessing a network. What should never be difficult, is trusting a TEM provider to protect your telecom assets from malicious parties. Your organization needs a three-tiered approach to address your security demands:
- Application Security
- Data Center Security
- Employee-Related Security
WidePoint’s telecom security is customized to each organization (a must for any business operating in highly-regulated industries spanning finance, healthcare, technology, and government sectors).
With a long history of supporting the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal government clients that demand the highest security standard, WidePoint’s focus on security is part of our company culture and thus carries over to our clients in the commercial area as well. Key employees in WidePoint’s IT infrastructure and software development groups have DoD security clearances which equates to 30% of the total staff.
WidePoint’s TEM platform, ITMS™ (Intelligent Telecommunications Management System) meets or exceeds several government and commercial security accreditations, including meeting the Federal Information Management Act (FISMA) at the moderate level and SSAE No. 18 SOC 2 Type 1 certification. WidePoint’s application security expertise will not only ensure your organization has access to single-sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) safeguards, but Digital Certificates for all system users.
WidePoint clients have the assurance that their TEM data is safely stored in U.S.-based data centers that have met the high standards required by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for an “Authority to Operate,” or ATO. Additionally, the data for each client is stored in its own database instance providing the flexibility to provide further security and access controls.
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If you want to avoid being another statistic in the ongoing battle to stop malicious parties in their tracks,
contact WidePoint to discuss how a customized TEM solution can improve your application security
to safeguard your most valuable assets, reduce costs, and enhance your telecom inventory visibility.
