Etisalat part of new global cyber-security alliance

dubai — Etisalat has joined forces with three other leading global telecoms to create the first Global Telco Security Alliance, boasting more than 1.2 billion customers in over 60 countries across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas.

Etisalat said on Thursday its landmark alliance with telecom giants Singtel, SoftBank and Telefónica will create one of the world’s biggest cyber-security providers to offer enterprises a comprehensive portfolio of cyber security services.

Under the deal, members will share cyber-risk intelligence and security capabilities to protect enterprises from evolving cyber threats worldwide.

“Through their combined resources and capabilities, the group can protect enterprises against the rising cyber security risks as the information security environment becomes increasingly complex,” the UAE telecom major said in a statement. Alliance members can achieve operational synergies and economies of scale that will eventually help lower costs for their customers, etisalat said. The group’s members operate 22 world-class security operation centres and employ more than 6,000 cyber-security experts.

The alliance is open to bringing in new members over time to expand global footprint. Under the agreement, the group will share network intelligence on cyber threats and leverage their joint global reach, assets and cyber security capabilities to serve customers worldwide.

Francisco Salcedo, senior vice-president at etisalat Digital, said with digital technologies gaining widespread adoption and driving innovation across industry verticals, the security landscape has evolved.

“Organisations now face a new breed of threats and need to manage digital risks in their environments,” he said.

“Today’s strategic alliance will give us a unique opportunity to work hand in hand with our telecom counterparts and deliver innovative security services for digital risk management.”

“We need swift and coordinated global responses to defend enterprises that operate across transnational borders as cyber threats are increasing in frequency, scale and sophistication,” said Art Wong, chief executive officer of global cyber-security at Singtel.

“Hackers have well-established and organized communities where they cooperate to produce cyber threats—it’s time that the world’s largest network of operators formed a global alliance to strengthen our defense against these attacks,” said Andrew Schwabecher, head of the cloud and cyber-security division at SoftBank.

“The Security Alliance will help all its members to deliver disruptive innovation to secure our customers’ digital lives,” said Pedro Pablo Pérez, vice-president for security at Telefónica and CEO of Telefonica’s cyber-security unit ElevenPaths. “For Telefónica, it’s a major step ahead in complementing our ability to develop as an intelligent Managed Security Service Provider and to continue to deliver outstanding growth.”