Author

Paul Eisler

Broadband Providers Are Committed To Fighting The Cyber Threat

By 2020, there will be an estimated 20 billion connected devices in service worldwide, and by 2021 the global cost of cybercrimes is expected to reach $6 trillion annually – more than Japan’s entire economy.

The list (and increasing sophistication) of recent cyber incidents is sobering.

From consumer data breaches like Equifax and Target to the outbreak of WannaCry Ransomware (which infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries) to the devastating NotPetya attack (more than $10 billion in damage) to state-sponsored threats and cyber espionage conducted via DNS hijacking, we know the cyberattack surface is enormous – and growing every day.

At USTelecom, we are working across different industries and with government partners (at home and abroad) to bolster our defenses and institute smart cybersecurity policy to protect consumers and businesses alike.

Bottom line: we take the cyber threat seriously.

We’ve founded the Council to Secure the Digital Economy, a partnership that represents thousands of companies across the globe that play key roles in the digital economy. We lead the Communications Sector Coordinating Council to protect the nation’s communications critical infrastructure, and we are proud to chair the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s first Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force to manage risk to the global supply chain.

Building on this momentum, today we are pleased to release the 2019 USTelecom Cybersecurity Toolkit, our annual guide to the cybersecurity policy ecosystem and a comprehensive resource for enterprises, policymakers, and anyone interested in bolstering their cyber defenses.

The 2019 USTelecom Cybersecurity Toolkit includes sections on:

  • Botnets and the Internet of Things (IoT)
  • Cybercrime developments, including legal resources
  • Cyber norms, diplomacy and deterrence
  • Cyber workforce initiatives
  • Information sharing about cyber threats
  • Guidance for small and medium-size businesses
  • Supply chain risk management

The toolkit comes at an inflection point for the digital ecosystem. Increased adoption of IoT devices and migration of infrastructure and services to the cloud are broadening the attack surfaces that bad actors can exploit.

To reverse these trends, broadband providers are innovating and investing in new technologies, implementing cutting-edge cybersecurity tools, sharing information necessary to detect and mitigate threats, and engaging in proactive educational initiatives to raise the level of global cyber-awareness.

The 2019 USTelecom Cybersecurity Toolkit is another step in that direction. We hope you find it a valuable resource.

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