Connectivity

Enea, Zain KSA to Test New Network Security Solutions

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network security solutions, enea, zain ksa, ksa, telecom, signaling firewalls,

Network security solutions company Enea is partnering with Saudi telco Zain KSA to test the world’s first mobile network signaling overlay technology.

  • The signaling security overlay promises to significantly enhance signaling firewall capabilities.
  • Enea and Zain KSA are to start their testing sometime this year.

Enea is partnering with Saudi telco Zain to test the world’s first mobile network signaling overlay technology.

The network security solutions company’s Technology Research unit has worked on the patent-pending signaling security overlay throughout 2023.

The new technology significantly extends signaling firewall capabilities, with tools designed to protect telecommunication networks, especially those used by mobile operators. These firewalls fulfill several critical functions:

  • They inspect messages for suspicious parameters or patterns that might indicate an attack.
  • They can manage the flow of signaling traffic, prioritizing critical messages and throttling less important ones to ensure smooth network operation.
  • They can inspect and filter messages based on specific protocols used for network signaling, allowing them to identify and block unauthorized or malicious messages.
  • They can limit the number of messages received from a particular source, preventing certain cyberattacks that try to overwhelm the network.
  • They can provide detailed reports and logs about network activity, allowing operators to monitor for suspicious behavior and identify potential security incidents.

Some advanced firewalls even use machine learning to identify anomalies and suspicious patterns in signaling traffic.

Pretty high-tech already, right? Well, Enea figured out how to further improve mobile network security. This new technology adds an extra layer (overlay) on top of the existing mobile network infrastructure. This extra layer grants deeper insights into network activity for security firewalls, enabling them to better detect and defend against emerging threats.

And now it’s time to test it in real time.

Saudi telco Zain KSA signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Enea to do just that. In 2024, the telco will start the pilot project on its network in the Kingdom. Enea’s CEO, Anders Lidbeck, explained that “the emergence of cloud and virtualized infrastructures, along with the proliferation of private networks and APIs, has introduced new complexities and vulnerabilities in mobile networks.” This has led to an increase in sophisticated cyberattacks. 

Mobile network signaling overlay technology is still a new concept in network security solutions. However, based on the technology’s goals, you, the consumer, stand to benefit from the technology, not just mobile operators. The overlay creates an extra layer of protection for signaling messages. Hackers would then have a more difficult time intercepting and manipulating these messages. Given that the overlay also enhances signal trafficking, the network’s performance should also improve, providing consumers with smoother call handoffs, faster data connections, and reduced dropped calls.

We will not know the true impact of this network solution company until Eana and Zain finish their testing.

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