In today’s episode of the “Start-up of the Week,” International Finance will talk about United Kingdom-based start-up SecurityGen, whose claim to fame is its platform that performs continuous proactive telecom network security assessments.
The platform, featuring AI-enabled breach and attack simulation, automates the process of inspection and detection of telecom networks. Also, the software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform doesn’t require additional software, reconfiguration, or maintenance costs with constant uptime and availability.
SecurityGen’s other solutions include an intrusion detection (IDS) platform and a next-generation firewall (NGFW). These two elements combine visibility with intelligence and high-powered analytics, enabling telecom providers to build, reinforce, and roll out secure and robust network operations, with a focus on 5G networks.
Knowing The Company In Detail
Headquartered in London, SecurityGen was established in 2022 by thought leaders and pioneers from the domain of network security, with the simple goal of having a global cybersecurity start-up, which will focus on telecom security.
In the age of 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT), network owners need to deal with vulnerabilities within their network, vulnerabilities which SecurityGen believes can’t be addressed in a passive/defensive manner.
The start-up is helping its clients to stay ahead of threats by delivering a solid security foundation to drive secure telco digital transformations and ensure next-gen enterprise intelligent connectivity.
The overall goal is simple here: to protect the backbone infrastructure of LTE and 5G network, along with the private and legacy ones, proactively detect, evaluate and mitigate attacks upon networks and services.
SecurityGen is covering every aspect of telecom, including the RAN, core, and all interconnections, apart from assessing network, mitigating potential cyber flaws, and boosting subscriber trust and revenue.
Here Comes The Product Line-up
Among SecurityGen’s flagship products, we have ACE, which is the first-of-its-kind AI-enabled breach and attack simulation platform for continuous inspection, detection, and protection of telecom network.
ACE automates the entire process of inspection and detection by giving network owners continuous and efficient 24×7 protection and saving millions of dollars. The inbuilt AI module enables ACE to constantly learn, enhance performance, and incorporate real-life scenarios and attack vectors from the field, thus strengthening the network security posture.
“ACE natively integrates with the 5G-ready Next-Generation Signalling Protection Platform (NGFW). This synergy of ACE and NGFW imparts enhanced security coverage by combining the inspect module with detect and protect one. ACE continuously reports the results of security assessments that help to cross-validate and check if signalling protection is ready and up-to-date. With ACE being available 24×7, security teams can now continuously keep a keen watch on the security posture without incurring additional expenses,” the venture noted.
“ACE is a SaaS platform that boasts of rapid set-up support, zero maintenance costs, and 24×7 availability. It works remotely and can be installed inside verified systems, with zero ‘agents’ and NO additional software or reconfiguration requirements,” it added.
ACE breach and attack simulation solutions ensure that mobile network operators proactively assess and safeguard against possible vulnerabilities even after network changes. The system helps to evaluate and ensure that adequate security countermeasures are in place and provides valuable information in case network security levels are lowered.
There is an increasing concern among banks, crypto-wallets, and online payment platforms about the inability of communication service providers to withstand fraudulent SMS interception. ACE ensures customer security by performing comprehensive checks to keep SMS data content thefts at bay.
Next is IDS (Intrusion Detection System Platform), which, powered by business intelligence (BI) modules, ensures comprehensive security monitoring and signalling traffic analysis.
In a digital world driven by critical infrastructure and sensitive data, all legacy networks, 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE, and even 5G are easily exploitable. Flaws in signalling protocols allow attackers to compromise subscriber privacy, intercept calls, track subscriber locations, carry out fraud, and cause a denial of service.
Network providers therefore require a strong deterrent to the more advanced cyber threats. SecurityGen’s IDS platform is the perfect solution here as it empowers telecom operators to respond to threats as they occur. It offers end-to-end coverage, from security monitoring and up-to-the-minute anomalous-activity detection, to protecting signalling network perimeter across HTTP/2, Diameter, GTP-C and SS7 signalling protocols.
IDS offers end-to-end network coverage, from security monitoring and up-to-the-minute anomalous-activity detection, to protecting signalling network perimeter across HTTP/2, Diameter, GTP-C and SS7 signalling protocols. Coupled with rich analytics and reporting capabilities, the IDS platform prevents hacker attacks, and protects the client’s core network while enhancing the company’s goodwill among subscribers.
The platform provides complete visibility of the core telecom network and easily integrates with SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and SOAR (Security Orchestration) systems empowering SOC (Security operations centre) with real-time threat detection.
Next is NGFW, which is a 5G-ready next generation signalling firewall advanced telecom signalling security system.
“The massive environment created by 5G, and edge-based computing presents a new and highly vulnerable threat landscape. As cloud, data, and IoT threats merge, it provides a pathway for adversaries to spread malware via IoT network, disrupt core functions and use routers as IoT botnets to launch DDoS attacks. Given that 5G network currently interoperate with existing 4G legacy network, and a minority of 5G network will be built base up, CSPs would require a fundamental shift in security approach to ensure holistic signalling security across both 5G and legacy LTE network,” SecurityGen remarked.
“Built using cutting-edge technologies and our team’s global expertise in advanced telecom security systems, SecurityGen’s Next Generation Signalling Firewall (NGFW) is a state-of-the-art platform built on cutting-edge technology that combines comprehensive visibility, with intelligence and high-powered analytics to protect the 5G and LTE network ecosystem. It also provides enhanced protection by integrating detection and protection capabilities and allows for complete application-level inspection and intrusion prevention,” it added.
NGFW scans incoming traffic for malicious attack patterns, and upon detailed analysis, verified messages are looped back and passed to the client’s core network. With SecurityGen’s signalling firewalls, the client then can quickly analyse and secure core networks and subscriber data. SecurityGen’s signalling firewalls can simultaneously detect and analyse cross-protocol attacks, a new class of threats targeting all network protocols in tandem.
SecurityGen is also working actively on the GTP (GPRS Tunnelling Protocol) front. GTP, defined by the 3GPP standards, has been a fundamental protocol in the evolution of mobile networks. GTP has evolved from connecting and enabling seamless roaming access in GPRS to acting as a liaison between old and new technologies across 3G and 4G.
The GTP protocol, despite its widespread usage in 4G and 5G networks, is also known for inherent vulnerabilities. One of them is the absence of a robust and built-in security mechanism. These vulnerabilities can result in the protocol being the hotbed of malicious acts like denial of cellular service, data interception, fraud, subscriber impersonation and data disclosure. These incidents can undermine the security and reliability of 5G networks.
Addressing the above worries, “GTP Firewall” shields mobile networks from potential risks associated with GTP. The firewall, a vital part of SecurityGen’s Telecom Security Guard (TSG) platform, provides robust security for 3G, 4G, and 5G networks, maintaining secure and seamless telecom services.
Covering A-Z Of Telecom Security
SecurityGen has started its “5G Security Programme” to help mobile network operators (MNOs) reinforce their security strategy and offers comprehensive guidelines for maintaining the reliability and resiliency of 5G network and services.
How is the programme helping the MNOs? by identifying the threats the businesses are facing and evaluating the challenges, along with offering clear, actionable recommendations for ongoing 5G security strategy, providing guidance for immediate remediation of critical weaknesses and vulnerabilities, assuring security for a range of service offerings and last by not the least, verifying compliance with industry recommendations.
Using the ACE SaaS model, SecurityGen is reinforcing measures to control signalling threats and ensure heightened security. ACE is enabling independent testing of signalling network. Once enabled, apart from conducting a thorough security assessment of the client’s signalling premises, creating a report highlighting critical issues and delivering it to the relevant teams.
Under the “Telecom Security Assessment,” SecurityGen’s expert team is providing complete visibility into the actual state of signalling protection throughout the telecom infrastructure, with the goal of highlighting potential attack vectors on signalling network and other risks, thus keeping the network and subscribers safe. These professionals are also running programmes related to fraud risks and telecom incidents (probing vulnerabilities in a signalling network).