The risk of third-party cyber attacks is becoming a growing concern following the recent major incidents on leading IT service providers like Kaseya and SolarWinds, which led to high-profile security breaches affecting numerous organisations around the globe.

Telco companies are now a prime target of these cyber attacks due to the large volumes of sensitive data they relay and store. Threat actors with nation-state backing are the ones most notably responsible as they conduct corporate and geopolitical espionage along with cybercriminal groups in search of quick profit.

Of course, telcos invest up to millions of dollars annually to bolster their cybersecurity. However, as many experts have stated, cybersecurity is a continuing process. There will always be some visibility gaps in a business's IT infrastructure that bad actors can exploit before a patch addresses them.

Compromising one leads to compromising all

Threat actors see supply chain attacks as an effective strategy that entails compromising one means compromising all. With the extensive critical infrastructure of Telecom companies, the impact of a cyber attack can be far-reaching for the compromised Telco and its large client base.

A good example of this happened recently in September 2022 when Australian mobile phone business unit Optus disclosed that attackers gained access to almost 10 million of their customer's personal information (a number totalling more than a third of Australia's population) with over two million of them having their personally identifiable information (PID) compromised.

Numerous kinds of data were stolen in the attack, including driver's licence information, passports, government-issued medical data, and the like. The attacks brought about concerns of potential large-scale financial and medical fraud and identity theft. This incident is only one of many high-profile Telco breaches, and these attacks are certain to leave a lasting impact on a victim organisation's reputation, brand, and future success on the market.

Data is not the only thing at risk

No company wants their proprietary and sensitive data to get breached but since these types of attacks rarely, if ever, have an immediate effect or disrupt operations such as a ransomware attack, they are typically not as highly prioritised. However, the reality is that IP theft can have a lasting impact that is far more costly than other cyber attacks.

Investing hundreds to millions of dollars in R&D is how companies achieve more innovative products and processes to stay ahead of competitors, and it all goes to waste should one of those competitors manage to steal it via a supply chain attack. Overnight, the victim organisation loses their advantage and must now compete against its own innovation in the market from competitors that can undercut them on cost due to having to recoup for much less.

Conclusion

Organisations must place a higher priority on supply chain attacks via their telecom partners as this threat can undermine even the most robust cybersecurity posture should it not be monitored sooner than later.

As the leading provider of offensive-inspired Singapore cybersecurity services, GROUP8 is the name you can rely on to safeguard and continuously maintain and improve your organisation's cybersecurity future against emerging threats. To learn more about our all-encompassing industry-leading solutions, do not hesitate to contact us at hello@group8.co today.