New and Emerging Security and Fraud Threats in Telecom Sector

We all know that the telecom sector is one of the fastest growing sectors and it is contributing a lot to India’s GDP. Affordable communication to a large subscriber base is the main reason behind such rapid growth in this sector. VAS vendors and technology up-gradation are responsible for improving the spectrum and network efficiencies.

Different Emerging Security and Fraud Threats in Telecom Sector

We still have the traditional Security and Fraud Threats in Telecom Sector. Phishing, Sim-Swap, Networking, Sim Boxing, Premium Destination Calling etc are some of the most common types of fraud activities at present. Rapid changes are taking place in the existing telecommunication network. People are now trying to offer a wide range of end user devices and new services across all the heterogeneous networks we have around us. This transformation is responsible for bringing new challenges to the telecom operators because now we can easily save new and evolving infrastructures from different Security and Fraud Threats in Telecom Sector.

Common Security Vulnerabilities in The Field of Technology

Nowadays, there is an increasing demand for different converged services including voice, video, and data. That’s why technology is trying to integrate the mobile network to the internet through the adoption of IP core network. IP session hacking, Data thefts, Infiltration are the common security threats that can affect the emerging trends in the converged network. MNO, Subscription Manager, Embedded SIM manufacturer are the major stakeholders in the value chain industry and they are famous for doing different fraud activities.

Importance of Fake Identity in The Non-Integrated Environment

Mobile subscribers can access a plethora of services like banking, e-commerce etc by using a single digital user identity. In this way, fraudsters can easily hack and get access to legitimate customers to account because they don’t need to remember multiple usernames and passwords for different activities. For example, if the initial profile is spoofed by using a fake ID, then it will be very easy for the hackers to create false accounts for supporting these fake identities. In this case, multiple factor identification and different prevention methods will not work to stop these Security and Fraud Threats in Telecom Sector.

Telecom operators and banking institutions are trying to exchange information between them because they want to maintain convergence in the customer service delivery. But the control environment continues to remain disintegrated because of the absence of formal technology.

Government Failures

In the service delivery model, there is a lack of focus on controls during the design stage. This is the main loophole for developing of different applications in the service sector. In some cases, customers, employees, and partners are taking the advantage of the existing loophole as they want to discover those scenarios.

We have already observed some fraud activities in the FinTech companies, supply chain industries and manufacturing sectors leading to multiple million dollars of financial losses. Government’s focus is now shifting from security measures due to pressure on the acquisition and this is one of the important causes of Government failure.

Conclusion

New technology adoptions are making a revolutionary change in today’s competitive industry. But if we consider the scale, velocity, and lack of identity of the perpetrator, the impact of fraud activities will be much more devastating in a remotely connected environment.

So, now the Government need to adopt a thoughtful security, structured governance and various fraud control measures for fighting against the above-mentioned fraud activities. We should also accept a new cultural approach that is almost integrated into every aspect of convergence.

Following are some of the most common ones:

• We should take initiatives for setting up common governance framework instead of proprietary frameworks.
• The Government also need to take proper initiatives for organizing some customer awareness campaign because it will definitely help enhancing customer’s faith on the brand of the organization and industry.

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