Carriers worldwide are deploying IP-networks to cater to a growing number of business, mobile and residential consumer services. These networks are designed with an open architecture that offers services that can often be controlled by the end-user. These dramatic changes bring with them new security issues that represent both a threat and an opportunity to service providers (SP).
The emerging threats to the service provider include issues such as:
- Eavesdropping
- Denial of services (e.g., flooding)
- Spoofing
- Tampering (e.g., insertion, modification, delay, re-routing and more)
- Identity theft
Such attacks can be instigated by malicious users or by automated devices, and can occur even within the SP trusted zone. To protect both the network and revenue generating services, the SP must adopt security measures for both detection and prevention of threats via mechanisms such as admission control, authentication and bandwidth management.
Security as a Service
The havoc that these new security issues pose can offer service providers an opportunity to provide value added services to their business customers. Managed security services are a proven business for service providers, who are able to provide security solutions for data centers, as well as firewalls, antivirus/anti-spam and encryption solutions.
As more and more organizations choose to reduce costs and focus on core capabilities, they opt to out-source their ICT to service providers, who must also ensure security and continuity of services.