By: Tim Young
  
I am told that there was a time in which security—whether on the network or in physical space—was an expectation. Or, at least, it was considered a possibility. But in an era of high-profile
  hacks and breaches, I think most adults with an ounce of healthy cynicism expect that, at some point, their sensitive data has been or will be compromised. The high-profile hacks, breaches, ransoms
  and leaks are too numerous to bother naming. Universities, voting boards, healthcare providers, intelligence agencies, emergency siren networks, font providers… It’s been a busy year…
  
  
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    By: Mark Cummings, Ph.D.
  
Cyber crime is one of the largest industries on the planet. We are getting better at detecting breaches. Fixing things, not so much. The bottleneck is remediation – stopping the attack and
  closing the hole the attacker came through. This is because remediation is a manual process. The only way to make things better is to automate remediation. In doing so, it is helpful to use the
  human immune system as a model for what is needed. The improvement in detection has come through behavioral analysis…
  
  
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    By: Stephanie Weagle
  
Experts have long warned that the inherent lack of security in many of the devices that make up the Internet of Things (IoT) would come back to haunt us. The DDoS events of the past year have
  brought this concern into sharp focus, by demonstrating just how damaging an IoT-powered botnet can be. It’s no secret that many IoT devices are poorly architected from a security
  perspective. Many have little or no security in place with simple default passwords making it easy for attackers to take control of them for malicious purposes…
  
  
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    By: Brad Russell
  
Key value propositions for consumers around the smart home are noted as more security, more safety, and easy management of home solutions for communication and controls in the home. Really, the
  promise of the connected home hinges on the security, safety, and simplicity of protecting this advanced technology from being exploited to harm households. In 2017, the connected home market has
  experienced an expansion of the kinds of attacks that have been increasing in recent years. Attacks include: Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks—like the largest-ever October 2016
  Mirai botnet attack—will target devices where default password usage provides easy unauthorized access…
  
  
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    By: Travis Russell
  
When the industry began work on a new signaling technology a few decades ago, the intent was to eliminate the fraud and security concerns of the time. Long distance and international calling
  was being compromised through clever techniques such as the Captain Crunch whistle that produced a perfect 2600 Hz. Black boxes were being used to create the tones used by pay phones to signal
  switching systems and fool them into connecting long distance and even international calls at no charge. The answer to the problem was the elimination of in-band MF signaling, and the
  implementation of signaling system #7…
  
  
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    By: Bernardo Lucas
  
According to a recent Technology, Media and Telecom Risk Index, c-level executives voted cyberattacks/hijacks as the fourth most pressing risk to their business. A perfect storm of legacy
  systems, complex hybrid networks, and the influx of data traffic is exposing vulnerabilities for hackers to not only breach the security perimeters of networks but also to commit fraud. And as the
  global smartphone penetration rate is expected to reach 44 percent by the end of 2017, CSPs must guard against new types of fraud made possible by the hyper-connectivity of an expanding array of
  networked devices…
  
  
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    By: Jesse Price
  
Today’s networks are under attack. Whether the target is a commercial network such as Equifax or the networks for the U.S. elections, cyber-attacks are capable of penetrating the most
  sophisticated security architectures without detection. Operators and government agencies are increasingly seeking out ways to identify threat trends and patterns by using real-time data derived
  from advanced network monitoring applications. However, these cyber intelligence tools often miss the critical information that can be gathered from the optical transport network…
  
  
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    By: Jim Rice
  
An old adage says sales is a numbers game. The more attempts you make and the broader you cast your net, the more successful you’ll be. But what if that new customer is using someone else’s
  identity? Or what if they can’t pay their bill? What once seemed like a win for a company, can quickly become a glaring risk. In May 2017, LexisNexis Risk Solutions published the first in its
  series of State of Risk white papers, "The Way Communications & Media Services Companies Market Can Increase Risk to Their Business…
  
  
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    By: Tim Young
  
''We have only two modes — complacency and panic.''- James R. Schlesinger When he said those words in 1977, Schlesinger, who served as the United States’ first energy secretary, was referring
  to the nation’s approach to energy policy—particularly regarding petroleum. Forty years on, Schlesinger remains correct, and not just about oil. We don’t sweat things that haven’t progressed to
  emergency status, and we greet the inevitable problems that arise from this lack of action with short-sighted alarm that results in an outcome that is both costly and sub-par…
  
  
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    By: Scott St. John - Pipeline
  
The industry was a flurry of activity this month, with innovation, IoT, network expansion, security, and regulation filling the news. The top stories from the month are summarized below. To
  view all the news, check out Pipeline's News Center. Steps in SecurityIn security news, a report by Corero indicates that DDoS attacks are on the rise due to vulnerabilities of IoT Devices. This
  news should come at no surprise, as 90% of consumers lack confidence in IoT device security, according to a survey conducted by Gemalto…
  
  
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