Security 

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.