telecommunications

Subscribe to telecommunications

Singapore has set up a new Telecom Cybersecurity Strategic Committee (TCSC) to develop a plan to tackle ‘next-generation cyber threats’ in the telecommunications sector.

The committee is expected to publish a strategy report and outline a roadmap for telecommunications operators to develop cybersecurity capabilities later in 2019. The report and roadmap will include recommendations for new initiatives such as capability development, technology innovation, regulation and international partnerships.

In his opening address at the inaugural Infocomm Media Cybersecurity Conference on 25 January 2018, Dr Janil Puthucheary, senior minister of state for the Ministry of Communications and Information, highlighted the following points.

As “Singapore aims to be a Smart Nation and a leading digital economy”, there is a vital need for cybersecurity. He added that the telecom industry is key and fundamental to secure Singapore’s connectivity infrastructure and services.

The government and telecommunication industry players should collaborate on cybersecurity matters. To date, some examples of such collaborative efforts include:

  • The Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA)’s launch of the Infocomm Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team in 2015 to respond to cybersecurity threats within the telecommunications and media sectors; and
  • IMDA’s revision in 2018 of the Telecommunications Cybersecurity Code of Practice to ensure that best practices from the industry can be applied to the telecom space.
  • The TCSC will identify challenges, key telecommunication technologies and market developments that will shape the cyber threat landscape. This is to ensure that Singapore keeps up to date on global, technological and industry trends.

Continue Reading Singapore announces series of initiatives to boost cybersecurity in the telecoms sector

On November 13, 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released comments it received from over 200 government, non-profit, academic, and private sector organizations on developing the Administration’s approach to consumer privacy.[1]

Since September, the NTIA has sought public comments to specifically address a number of questions that focused on the outcomes, goals, risks, and implementation of its proposed high-level framework for consumer privacy protection. The Administration’s framework articulated a set of organizational practices focused on data transparency, minimization of collection, the storage, use, and sharing of data, security, and risk management, in addition to broader goals to reconcile a disparate regulatory patchwork and ensure that resources for privacy protections and enforcement are properly allocated. If a few of these concepts sound familiar, it’s because they loosely mirror elements of existing privacy frameworks established at the industry, state, and international levels, and the sources and arbiters of those frameworks took this opportunity to urge the Administration to follow these examples more closely. As the Executive Branch agency principally responsible by law for advising the president on information policy issues, the goal of the NTIA’s request for comment is to inform the Administration’s approach to consumer privacy. As such, the Administration’s consideration and reaction to the comments received is likely to affect future discussions and proposals in the ongoing debate regarding federal privacy legislation. As expected, many of the comments are framed against the backdrop of recent, related changes in law, with particular focus on the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Here, we summarize some of the significant comments and proposals received by the NTIA.Continue Reading Public comment for private matters: NTIA receives over 200 comments on proposed approach to protecting consumer privacy informed by GDPR, CCPA & more

As part of Ofcom’s strategic review of the telecommunications sector announced earlier this year, the UK communications regulator published a discussion document on 16 July 2015 it’s main policy objectives. At the same time, the European Union has been reviewing regulation within the telecommunications industry as part of the European Commission’s Digital Single Market (DSM)…