Most mobile security efforts are focused on end users and off-the-shelf software implementations by IT departments, but end users can best be protected from malware distributed via mobile broadband traffic by a combination of network-based and client-based protection, NSN said.
“Operators are in a unique position to protect their networks and their customers’ connections and content,” says Patrick Donegan, senior analyst at Heavy Reading, in a blog.
So, the goal of the NSN initiative is to create a platform for knowledge exchange on mobile broadband-related telco security research. Operator perspectives and actions will be the main thrust, along with input from business and research partners, and public authorities.
Mobile malware is nothing if not pervasive: malicious code is infecting more than 11.6 million mobile devices at any given time, putting their owners at increased risk for stolen personal and financial information; bill shock resulting from pirated data usage; and extortion in exchange for device control, according to Kindsight.
Mobile malware infections increased 20% in 2013, with 4G LTE devices being the most likely to be infected. To put that in perspective, the mobile infection rate was just 0.55% in the fourth quarter. But, the number of mobile malware samples is growing at a rapid clip, increasing by 20-fold in 2013.
“Not only is the sheer number of smart devices and their applications a growing problem, the billing relationship between subscriber and operator also makes an attractive target for fraudsters,” explained the company in a recent blog. “Providing protection is an important differentiator for operators, as protecting users’ devices, data and privacy can be a major selling point.”
The center will allow end-to-end security testing for multi-vendor mobile broadband environments, and NSN and its partners in the security ecosystem will be able to simulate threat scenarios and assess security solutions in the center to ensure best scalability and efficiency of the solutions for meeting carrier-grade requirements.
“Europe and specifically Germany are leading drivers for the highest standards of telco security and privacy protection,” said Hermann Rodler, managing director of NSN in Germany. “This in conjunction with our security expertise and significant R&D footprint in Germany makes Berlin a natural choice for us. We want to engage in a dialog with the telco security community and contribute our broad experience in protecting mobile broadband networks.”
The center is expected to be fully operational in the second half of 2014.
Obviously, the more that mobile users can do from a connected device perspective, the better it is for criminals to try and take advantage of their behavior and habits – that's why 4G devices are more at risk than earlier mobile technologies. NSN noted that security will only be more critical as the technology improves.
“In the Mobile Broadband Security Center, we will leverage our existing expertise and our partner ecosystem in order to increase end-to-end security in mobile broadband today and drive forward 5G security concepts and standardization,” said Rodler.