Claudia Bacco, Managing Director – EMEA for RCR Wireless News – has spent her entire career in telecom, IT and security. Having experience as an operator, software and hardware vendor and as a well-known industry analyst, she has many opinions on the market. She’ll be sharing those opinions along with ongoing trend analysis for RCR Wireless News.
For the first time in history, the number of malicious malware items aimed at mobile devices has surpassed that of PCs, reaching 2 million unique samples.
Security you can rely on was the theme of the day as Nokia opened its new Security Center in Berlin. Focused on security for mobile broadband, there was a range of speakers from Nokia Networks, German government and research organizations, and industry present at the event. The center is equipped with a fully operational LTE test network and showcases the ecosystem of partners Nokia is working with to bring its vision to reality. Security areas of focus span the spectrum of radio access security, core network security and end-user security solutions.
The message from Nokia was of security being built into the network, not riding on top; the comparative analogy is of a human body’s immune system for the radio network. When there is a “thinking network,” it adapts to the traffic it is carrying in order to bring the content closer to the edge of the network and the subscriber, while ensuring the network is protecting the subscriber. 
Subscribers’ network protection was a topic repeated throughout the day; whether subscribers expect protection from their mobile operator and the reality if it doesn’t happen. Seventy-five percent of subscribers expect their operator to protect them from malicious attacks via the mobile network. Although the industry talks about being wary of downloads and using anti-virus tools, this shows that average subscribers still look to their mobile operator for the solution. Additionally, 40% of subscribers said they would churn mobile operators due to a security issue. Although this sounds rather dire for the operators, there was some good news. Forty percent of subscribers said they are willing to pay their mobile operator to ensure the security of their mobile data. As operators look to deploy additional functionality to ensure subscriber data security, it’s clear there is a path to recoup some of these costs.
Nokia’s Mobile Guard solution
KPN presented the operator’s point of view on security. It’s about “money” – the cost to deploy the technology, the potential fines related to a security breach and the opportunity to upsell with new security services to subscribers. KPN is currently participating in a trial of Nokia Networks’ Mobile Guard solution, which uses an integrated malware intelligence database to correlate suspicious network traffic patterns to known threats. It then lets mobile operators take corrective actions to protect subscribers from further issues once a breach has been detected. As 73% of mobile malware is delivered via fraudulent text messages, it continues to be a growing challenge faced by the operators.
The new facility is not intended to be a demo showcase. It’s a facility to house a test lab, knowledge center and interoperability projects with partners. Although it will be used to showcase the security risks and potential solutions, that is not its primary focus. There are multiple racks of live equipment from Nokia and their ecosystem partners visible in the cube pictured at the start of this article.
Upon entering the facility, there is a wall of mirrors that begins to immediately scan those present it the room. It simulates how easy it would be to scan your IP address and all personal information on your mobile device. A pretty scary thought if you ask me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2sQOM4xbVY&feature=youtu.be
