More than ever, online account security is essential these days. You should rely on unique passwords for each of your accounts (using a password manager of your choice) and turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) for any service you use that supports it. For most accounts, the second factor usually is a one-time password (OTP), automatically regenerated on a regular 30-second schedule. Using this security measure will prevent bad actors from breaching your accounts even if they get a hold of your passwords.

Some services offer to send you OTPs via SMS, but you should always opt for proper 2FA apps if you can. Text messages aren't encrypted and phone numbers can be spoofed, so an elaborate hacker has no trouble getting past these measures. Luckily, there are quite a few great 2FA apps to choose from.

It's generally a good idea to rely on open-source tools for security the code is transparent and openly available, so security audits are easy to conduct. That's why our first recommendation and my personal 2FA manager of choice is andOTP, a fork of the long-inactive OTP Authenticator app. The open-source app might not be the prettiest, but it gets the job done very well. Its storage can be encrypted via password, and it supports encrypted backups. While it doesn't offer cloud syncing, you can rest assured that your OTPs will never be stored on unknown, potentially insecure servers without your explicit permission. andOTP also saves the secret code you need to use to set up your OTPs, so you can easily switch to another OTP manager if you ever want to without having to go through the setup process for all of your accounts again.

If you don't value the open-source aspect that much and prefer a 2FA app that automatically and securely syncs over the cloud, Authy might be the service of your choice. Your cloud backup is encrypted by a password and an SMS-based 2FA system, allowing you to seamlessly sync your OTP codes across multiple devices. Authy also has a proprietary 2FA API that some services rely on, so you might be forced to use Authy already anyway.

Authy doesn't let you recover the secret codes used to set up OTPs, so if you ever want to switch to another manager, you'll have to set up all of your OTPs via your accounts anew again.

If you don't want to backup or sync your 2FA codes at all for security reasons, the Google Authenticator might be interesting for you. It supports the usual features and runs locally on your Android phone. While Authy and andOTP have dark modes, Google Authenticator is the only one that switches automatically based on your system theme.

It's generally not recommended to store 2FA credentials in the same place as your password as that effectively eliminates thesecond factorpart of the equation. But as long as you take all imaginable measures to secure your password manager, having all of your credentials in one place is convenient and might encourage you to set up 2FA for more of your accounts, which is more secure than just relying on passwords. You might still want to use a standalone 2FA app for your most important accounts when you go this route.

Here are our favorite solutions for password managers with 2FA support:

Microsoft Authenticator started out as a 2FA app, but the company recently turned it into a full-fledged password manager that syncs with Microsoft Edge when you log in with your Microsoft account. You can still use the Authenticator as a standalone 2FA app by simply not adding passwords if you prefer that. You also don't have to log in with your Microsoft account if you don't want or need cloud backups.

MYKI probably isn't the best-known password manager out there, but it has some unique tricks up its sleeve. Your data doesn't ever leave the devices you own, but your passwords and 2FA codes still sync via its peer-to-peer setup that doesn't require manual work on your part. That's great if you're concerned about server security without wanting to lose out on the convenience of cross-device syncing. Our own Rita wrote an extensive review a few years back, and it's still to the point.

OTPs are displayed alongside your password and account name.

If you'd rather rely on cloud-based software, Bitwarden is a great open-source choice. To use it for 2FA codes, you need to pay for the $10/year premium version, which is incredibly fair compared to other password managers. Once you've got everything set up, you can use Bitwarden to autofill passwords. OTP codes will then be added to your clipboard automatically, so you can just paste them.

LastPass's approach is a little different from other password managers with integrated OTP support. The security company offers a secondary 2FA app that you need to use in tandem with the main password manager application. When you log in to one of your OTP-protected accounts, you'll receive a push notification on your phone, allowing you to seamlessly verify your identity. You can also back up your OTPs to your LastPass account.

Of course, this is only a small selection of 2FA options out there, but we've found these to be the best or most unique ones. Most password managers have built-in support for 2FA codes, and a few services have their own OTP implementations you can or must alternatively use.

You can find out which of your services support 2FA on the crowdsourced twofactorauth.org website. Tap the "Docs" shortcut in the results to see detailed instructions on how to enable OTP codes for the service in question.

Original post:
The 7 best 2FA apps on Android - Android Police

New York, Feb. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Advanced Persistent Threat Protection Market By Component, By Organization Size, By Deployment Type, By End User, By Region, Industry Analysis and Forecast, 2020 - 2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06021495/?utm_source=GNW They are very tough to detect and eliminate as they dont clearly appear to be malware and also may be established very deeply into an administrations computing systems. The initiators and designers of the APT are steadily monitoring and guiding its actions by altering its code to avoid detection and transform it into a changing set of behaviors. Basically, an organization that has been penetrated will not even be alert of it and may only become alert at a much later time by monitoring through log analysis via Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools or through outbound communication activity.

A speedily evolving threat landscape is the dynamic factor for the rise in the demand for protection systems in the market. The application of this protection system is visible in defense and government, financial services and insurance, healthcare, banking, and others, which has resulted to the growth of the ATP protection marketplace. The forensic analysis marketplace is also anticipated to grow at a maximum rate. The main factors contributing towards the growing demand for ATP protection in the marketplace are the advancements that are made in technology, rising adoption of cloud in the enterprises, stringent government regulations, and increasing consciousness towards securing confidential information.

By Component

Based on Component, the market is segmented into Solution and Services. Solutions segment is further classified into Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), Endpoint Protection, Intrusion Detection System/ Intrusion Prevention System (IDS/ IPS), Next-Generation Firewall, Sandboxing, and Others. On the basis of solutions, the SIEM segment likely to hold the largest market size in the year 2026. SIEM collects security data from servers, network devices, and domain controllers, examines the data stored to discover trends, detects threats, and then allows administrations to investigate any alerts.

By Organization Size

Based on Organization Size, the market is segmented into Large Enterprises and Small & Medium Enterprises. Large Enterprises segment witnessed higher revenue share in 2019. Large enterprises are broadly opting for APT protection solutions and are likely to invest considerably in advanced APT protection solutions in order to provide prime security to their enterprises extremely competitive environment.

By Deployment Type

Based on Deployment Type, the market is segmented into Cloud and On-premise. Cloud segment generated the highest revenue in 2019. Growing reliability and easy access to data are uplifting the adoption of these cloud services in numerous enterprises thereby driving revenue growth of the cloud segment in the worldwide market. Over the past decade, the ATP protection market has evolved from traditional unsophisticated malware outbreaks to advance and zero-day attacks.

By End User

Based on End User, the market is segmented into BFSI, Retail & Ecommerce, Government & Defense, Healthcare, Telecom & IT, Energy & Utilities and Others. Advanced persistent threat market security approach is progressively being applied across various vertical lines such as BFSI, government and defense, education, and others that have contributed to market growth internationally.

By Region

Based on Regions, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, Middle East & Africa. APAC is expected to register the highest growth rate during this period. APAC countries comprise developing economies, such as China, India, Australia, and Japan. With the propagation of AI, IoT, and big data in the APAC region, fraud and security concerns have risen. This is expected to invest more insecurity due to the increasing threat of APT attacks.

The major strategies followed by the market participants are Product Launches and Acquisitions. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix; Cisco Systems, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation are the forerunners in the Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) Protection Market. Companies such as McAfee, LLC, FireEye, Inc., Fortinet, Inc., and Trend Micro, Inc., Palo Alto Networks, Inc., Dell Technologies, Inc., Sophos Group PLC, and ESET, spol. s.r.o. are some of the key innovators in the market.

The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Palo Alto Networks, Inc., Fortinet, Inc., Dell Technologies, Inc. (VMware, Inc.), FireEye, Inc., Trend Micro, Inc., ESET, spol. s.r.o., McAfee, LLC and Sophos Group PLC (Thoma Bravo).

Recent strategies deployed in Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) Protection Market

Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements:

Dec-2020: Fortinet announced a collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Together, the companies aimed to offer customers advanced security across their cloud platforms, applications, and network.

Nov-2020: Trend Micro collaborated with Amazon, a technology company. Following the collaboration, Trend Micro became the launch partner for AWS Network Firewall. It is a managed service that aims to make it easier to install necessary network protections for Amazon Virtual Private Clouds (Amazon VPCs) on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Sep-2020: Palo Alto Networks and OPSWAT, the leader in critical infrastructure protection extended their partnership to keep on improving secure access solutions. The expansion helps in incorporating support for new endpoint platforms and IoT devices in GlobalProtect and Prisma Access for branch offices, retail locations, and mobile users.

Apr-2020: McAfee came into a partnership with Zyxel, a leader in delivering secure, AI- and cloud-powered home and business solutions. Following the partnership, the companies aimed to offer an integrated one-box security solution to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Sep-2019: McAfee signed a partnership agreement with Canon, a company specialized in optical, imaging, and industrial products. This partnership aims at offering industries with embedded protection against malware execution and interfering with firmware and applications that run on multi-function devices (MFDs).

Jun-2019: Palo Alto Networks and Retarus announced their partnership. The partnership was focused on providing secure email communication from European data centers. The WildFire malware prevention technology from Palo Alto Networks is now part of Retarus exhaustive email security portfolio.

May-2019: Cisco announced its partnership with Tata Communications, an Indian telecommunications company. The partnership was focused on removing the complications of digital era enterprise networking through incorporating Cisco SD-WAN with the IZO cloud enablement platform.

Jan-2019: Dell came into partnership with Secureworks and CrowdStrike for new endpoint security offering including response services, threat detection, and prevention. The latest Dell SafeGuard and Response offering integrates unified endpoint protection, managed security, incident response expertise, and threat behavioral analytics.

Acquisition and Mergers:

Oct-2020: Cisco Systems introduced its acquisition of Portshift, a startup that focuses on application security for cloud-native development environments. The acquisition enhanced security for Kubernetes-based cloud-native applications.

Jun-2020: VMware completed the acquisition of Lastline. The acquisition strengthened VMwares portfolio to include new capabilities for network detection and response/network threat analysis that extend over NSX and SD-WAN offerings.

Mar-2020: McAfee completed its acquisition of Light Point Security, LLC, an award-winning pioneer of browser isolation. The acquisition added Light Point Securitys robust browser isolation capabilities to the McAfee product portfolio.

Jan-2020: FireEye acquired Cloudvisory, a control center for cloud security management. The acquisition added cloud workload security capabilities to FireEye Helix, providing customers with an integrated security operations platform for cloud and container security.

Oct-2019: Trend Micro acquired Cloud Conformity, an advanced Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) company. The acquisition widened the cloud services of Trend Micro, hence resolving and securing frequently overlooked security problems that are resulted from cloud infrastructure misconfiguration.

Oct-2019: Fortinet acquired enSilo, a privately-own next-generation endpoint security company. The acquisition further improved the Fortinet Security Fabric and supported Fortinets powerful endpoint and network security solutions by offering customers next-generation endpoint security.

Aug-2019: McAfee took over NanoSec, a multi-cloud, zero-trust application, and security platform. The acquisition helped companies in enhancing compliance and governance and minimizing the risk of their cloud and container deployments.

May-2019: FireEye took over Verodin, the key vendor in proving the efficiency of cybersecurity controls. The Verodin platform encourages cybersecurity products and technology-enabled services. Verodin incorporated FireEye Helix security orchestration abilities to assist customers to prioritize and automate continuous enhancement of security controls.

Jan-2019: Sophos acquired Avid Secure, an advanced cloud infrastructure security company. The acquisition extended the present portfolio of the company and enabled it to provide cloud security.

Product Launches and Product Expansions:

Dec-2020: Trend Micro launched a regional data lake for detection and response (XDR) service in India. Trend Micro XDR provides exhaustive correlated detection that goes beyond endpoint detection and response (EDR). It is capable of analyzing and gathering activity data from emails, endpoints, servers, cloud workloads, and networks, enabling security operations center (SOC) teams to detect, investigate and respond to advanced threats.

Nov-2020: Trend Micro unveiled a free tool that aims to help users increase their privacy online and fight misinformation. A Security Check is included in this new tool. This feature utilizes threat intelligence to confirm whether a website or URL is corrupted or infected. Moreover, it enables Privacy Check that utilizes the ID Security service of Trend Micro to verify whether a users email address has been put up for sale on the dark web.

Nov-2020: McAfee launched the MVISION XDR platform for its extended detection and response (XDR) capabilities. It is a cloud-based next-generation threat management solution with complete coverage across the effective response, prioritization to protect what matters easy orchestration and attack lifecycle.

Oct-2020: FireEye introduced Mandiant Advantage: Threat Intelligence, the first SaaS-based offering by Mandiant Solutions. This solution incorporated the threat Intelligence with information from the main part of its industry-key cyber incident response engagements, provided through a simple to use management platform.

Aug-2020: Microsoft introduced its Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) application for Android users. Microsoft users with 365 E5 license are the only ones that can use the application. The objective of the app is to aid enterprise/business users to keep a distance from cybersecurity threats from harmful websites and apps that intend to steal your data. The app also enables Security Operations teams to detect and examine security incidents for the enterprise.

May-2020: FireEye launched a new advanced Architecture behind FireEye Endpoint Security, which includes the accessibility of various new methods for protection, investigation, and response. With the help of this approach, FireEye is enabling companies with an effective way to install advanced features.

Mar-2020: Fortinet unveiled the FortiOS 6.4 that incorporates above 350 new functions across areas including SD-WAN, two-factor authentication, SD-Branch, device visibility, email, and web security, SIEM, next-generation AV, hybrid cloud, and many more. It is designed to develop a cybersecurity platform that follows three main principles namely automated workflows, broad visibility, and integrated solutions.

Feb-2020: Microsoft launched various enterprise security solutions. It includes Microsoft Threat Protection GA, Microsoft 365 Insider Risk Management GA, Microsoft 365 Communication Compliance GA, Office 365 ATP Campaign Views GA, Office 365 ATP Compromise Detection and Response GA, Azure Sentinel Enhancements, Microsoft Defender ATP for Linux Previews, Azure Active Directory and FIDO2 Preview, Azure Security Center for IoT Perks.

Feb-2020: Fortinet launched FortiAI, a unique on-premises solution. This solution utilizes self-learning Deep Neural Networks (DNN) to accelerate threat remediation and manage time-consuming, manual security analyst tasks.

Oct-2019: Sophos launched Managed Threat Response (MTR) service. This service offers a dedicated round the clock security team to the organizations for offsetting the most sophisticated and complex threats.

Jun-2019: Palo Alto Networks launched Prisma, a new cloud security suite aimed at helping its customers live a safer digital life. It becomes the new benchmark in cloud security, changing the cloud journey by streamlining access, data protection, and application security. Prisma was developed based on Palo Alto Networks cloud security products and offers new experiences with the Prisma suite.

Jan-2019: FireEye released several new defenses that are now available on FireEye Email Security; Server Edition, in direct response to the ever-changing cyber threat landscape. FireEye Email Security-Server Edition includes various other new functions designed to address rising threat vectors while improving performance. These incorporate Attachment Detonation Customization, Full URL Rewrite, Passwords in Images, and New Machine Learning Engine.

Scope of the Study

Market Segments covered in the Report:

By Component

Solution

o Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

o Endpoint Protection

o Intrusion Detection System/ Intrusion Prevention System (IDS/ IPS)

o Next-Generation Firewall

o Sandboxing

o Others

Services

By Organization Size

Large Enterprises

Small & Medium Enterprises

By Deployment Type

Cloud

On-premise

By End User

BFSI

Retail & Ecommerce

Government & Defense

Healthcare

Telecom & IT

Energy & Utilities

Others

By Geography

North America

o US

o Canada

o Mexico

o Rest of North America

Europe

o Germany

o UK

o France

o Russia

o Spain

o Italy

o Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

o China

o Japan

o India

o South Korea

o Singapore

o Malaysia

o Rest of Asia Pacific

LAMEA

o Brazil

o Argentina

o UAE

o Saudi Arabia

o South Africa

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Global Advanced Persistent Threat Protection Market By Component, By Organization Size, By Deployment Type, By End User, By Region, Industry Analysis...

Cloud Resources Increase Healthcare Efficiencies

Pennsylvania-based Geisinger is in the planning stage of a four-year cloud migration, and a desire to increase efficiency is one of the main drivers behind the migration, says CIO John Kravitz.

A lot of applications that we have running on-premises are inefficiently written, and that requires a lot of capacity to be allocated to those apps, so we have a lot of compute and storage dedicated to an app that never gets used, Kravitz says. Some of these may use 10 to 15 percent of that capacity, even though its never getting touched, so its a wasted resource.

Avoiding a lift and shift approach to cloud migration is key, he says, because otherwise the organization is just transferring those inefficiencies to the cloud.

We are looking at every application to see if it has cloud enablement or Software as a Service, so you can ratchet down the need or wind it up slowly as the need for those resources presents itself, he says. Most of the public clouds give you that scale-up capability when you need it.

Thats a point of view shared by B.J. Moore, executive vice president and CIO at health system Providence, which serves patients in seven states. The cloud provides an opportunity to become smaller and more dynamic than the organization could be on-premises solutions, he says.

We can retire half of our apps, and were finding a lot of these apps can be consolidated, so were reducing our estate of apps massively and retiring thousands of servers in the process, Moore says. Its about changing your practices to be in a cloud world, which is a just-in-time, elastic environment.

The cloud also supports simplified, centralized data access, says Moore, pointing out that a cloud-based data lake provides storage that can be expanded, along with compute performance that can be ramped up when needed.

We use advanced AI models to predict COVID outbreaks, and if we didnt have the cloud, we wouldnt have been able to do this modeling, he says. All the waves of innovation are going to be in the cloud, and if you want to compete, you have to be in the cloud.

RELATED: Avoid three common mistakes in cloud migration.

Moving to the cloud also will bring benefits to Geisingers virtual care delivery services, including videoconferencing capabilities, says Kravitz. In addition, it will facilitate easier access to data for remote office workers, although he stresses that data security must remain a paramount concern.

The cloud delivered a similar benefit to Providence, where it helped the organization meet a rapid rise in demand for virtual visits immediately after COVID-related closures, says Moore.

The beauty of the cloud is that we just added licenses, whereas if it were on-premises, we would have had to wait months to add and install more servers, he says. In a crisis like this, that elasticity is invaluable.

Kravitz also points to benefits for Geisingers research initiatives, including work with genomic sequencing. Moving data from New York City-based biotechnology firm Regeneron to the Amazon Web Services cloud supports mass compute on that data for patient care purposes and greater flexibility in the use of resources.

It would cost us millions to have that hardware hardly being used on-premises, says Kravitz. It makes it more cost effective for us to just delete that data when we are done with it.

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Hospitals Save Costs and Gain Dynamic Service in the Cloud - HealthTech Magazine

The powers that be at UCLA thought it was a good idea at the time using state-of-the-art technology to scan students faces for gaining access to campus buildings. Students thought otherwise.

The implementation of facial recognition technology would present a major breach of students privacy and make students feel unsafe on a campus they are supposed to call home, the Daily Bruin said in an editorial last year.

UCLA dropped the facial recognition plan a few weeks later. We have determined that the potential benefits are limited and are vastly outweighed by the concerns of our campus community, officials declared.

I recalled that fracas after the Federal Trade Commission announced the other day that it had reached a settlement with a San Francisco company called Everalbum, which offered online storage of photos and videos.

The company, via its Ever app, scanned millions of facial images without customers knowledge and used the data to develop facial recognition software for corporate clients, the FTC said.

Everalbum also promised users it would delete their photos and videos from its cloud servers if they closed their account. However, the company retained them indefinitely, the agency said.

Using facial recognition, companies can turn photos of your loved ones into sensitive biometric data, said Andrew Smith, director of the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Ensuring that companies keep their promises to customers about how they use and handle biometric data will continue to be a high priority for the FTC, he said.

Be that as it may, theres a lot of money to be made with such cutting-edge technology. Experts tell me consumers need to be vigilant about privacy violations as some of the biggest names in the tech world including Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple pursue advances in the field.

Since there arent federal laws on facial recognition, it seems pretty likely that there are other companies using this invasive technology without users knowledge or consent, said Caitlin Seeley George, campaign director for the digital rights group Fight for the Future.

She called Everalbums alleged practices yet another example of how corporations are abusing facial recognition, posing as much harm to peoples privacy as government and law enforcement use.

Facial recognition technology took center stage after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Law enforcement agencies nationwide have been using facial recognition systems to identify participants from photos and videos posted by the rioters.

Thats creepy, to be sure, but it strikes me as a legitimate use of such technology. Every rioter in the building was breaking the law and many were foolishly bragging about it on social media. These people deserve their comeuppance.

In the absence of clear rules, however, some of the big dogs in the tech world have adopted go-slow approaches to facial recognition, at least as far as law enforcement is concerned.

Microsoft said last year that it wouldnt sell its facial recognition software to police departments until the federal government regulates such systems. Amazon announced a one-year moratorium on allowing police forces to use its facial recognition technology.

But law enforcement is just one part of the equation. Theres also the growing trend of businesses using facial recognition to identify consumers.

Consumers need to know that while facial recognition technology seems benign, it is slowly normalizing surveillance and eroding our privacy, said Shobita Parthasarathy, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan.

Not least among the potential issues, researchers at MIT and the University of Toronto found that Amazons facial recognition tends to misidentify women with darker skin, illustrating a troubling racial and gender bias.

Then theres the matter of whether people are being identified and sorted by businesses without their permission.

Facebook agreed to pay $550 million last year to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging the company violated an Illinois privacy law with its facial recognition activities.

The Everalbum case illustrates how facial recognition is spreading like poison ivy in the business world, with at least some companies quietly exploiting the technology for questionable purposes.

Between September 2017 and August 2019, Everalbum combined millions of facial images that it extracted from Ever users photos with facial images that Everalbum obtained from publicly available datasets, the FTC said in its complaint.

This vast store of images was then used by the company to develop sweeping facial recognition capabilities that could be sold to other companies, it said.

Everalbum shut down its Ever app last August and rebranded the company as Paravision AI. The companys website says it continues to sell a wide range of face recognition applications.

Paravision has no plans to run a consumer business moving forward, a company spokesman told me, asking that his name be withheld even though hes, you know, a spokesman.

He said Paravisions current facial recognition technology does not use any Ever users data.

Emily Hand, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, said facial recognition data is a highly sought-after resource for many businesses. Its one more way of knowing who you are and how you behave.

Hand said that for every company that gets in trouble, theres 10 or more that didnt get caught.

Seeley George at Fight for the Future said, Congress needs to act now to ban facial recognition, and should absolutely stay away from industry-friendly regulations that could speed up adoption of the technology and make it even more pervasive.

Shes not alone in that sentiment. Amnesty International similarly called this week for a global ban on facial recognition systems.

I doubt that will happen. With the biggest names in Silicon Valley heavily invested in this technology, its not going away. Whats needed are clear rules for how such data can be collected and used, especially by the private sector.

Any company employing facial recognition technology needs to prominently disclose its practices and give consumers the ability to easily opt out. Better still, companies should have to ask our permission before scanning and storing our faces.

Todays facial recognition technology is fundamentally flawed and reinforces harmful biases, Rohit Chopra, then an FTC commissioner, said after the Everalbum settlement was announced.

With the tsunami of data being collected on individuals, we need all hands on deck to keep these companies in check, he said.

Chopra has since been appointed by President Biden to serve as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

We can all recognize that as a positive step.

Here is the original post:
We need rules for facial recognition, and we need them now - Los Angeles Times

January 2021 Report on Impact of 5G and Cloud on Transformation of Telecom Networks January 2021

$5,000.00

This LightCounting report focuses on the changing marketplace facing the communications service providers (CSPs). In particular, the impact of adopting cloud practices and the associated challenges, and the advent of 5G and other technologies, on the CSPs networking infrastructure.

Embracing cloud technologies represents a key inflection point for the CSPs as they change how they build and operate their networks. Instead of working with select systems vendors for individual service introductions and network upgrades, the CSPs are turning to software, network disaggregation and even white-box hardware to make their networks open and software-defined. The CSPs continue to work closely with established systems vendors as they transform their networks but by adopting open disaggregated designs, they are engaging a wider community of suppliers. With networks based on disaggregated designs and software, the CSPs seek to more easily update their networks, switching in and out vendors as required. Separating the software from the hardware and opening up designs also promise the faster introduction of services, a long-sought goal of the operators and key to improving their revenues and innovativeness. But such a transformation is challenging and is a major upheaval for the CSPs and for the telecom industry in general.

The industry has come a long way since the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Network Functions Virtualization (NVF) White Paper first articulated the network transformation vision in 2012. And much remains before the goal of network transformation is achieved. Yet there are already glimpses as to what is becoming possible for the CSPs. One is the emergence of Rakuten Mobile demonstrating an Open RAN-based mobile network built using a disaggregated design and code-based network functions, while Deutsche Telekom has gone live with its first Access 4.0 disaggregated broadband access platform based on software and servers - providing fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services to customers in Stuttgart, Germany.

What is clear is that the industry is on a new path: the leading CSPs have consigned to history the traditional way of building networks based on proprietary platforms from individual vendors. The CSPs are more hands-on, defining their needs to the vendor community working through open networking organizations, and using incremental steps to achieve their goals. Another consequence of disaggregation and the software-defined network is the internet content providers (ICPs) growing role in telecoms. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud all recognize the opportunity telecoms represents and are partnering with the CSPs as both expand their cloud footprints at the network edge.

To view the sample database: click here

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January 2021 Report on Impact of 5G and Cloud on Transformation of Telecom Networks | - Lightcounting Market Research