The new services are ‘industrialised’ versions of those delivered to government and defence by a long-established, dedicated unit.
Vodafone UK has launched a portfolio of cybersecurity services – Business Security Enhanced – designed to protect enterprises, public sector organisations and critical national infrastructure providers from cybercrime.
It is delivered by a dedicated security team, which has been providing expert security services and solutions to Government and defence customers since 1989: every element of the service is run from secure, in-house datacentres.
Cybersecurity part of connectivity
As Anne Sheehan, Business Director, Vodafone UK (pictured), noted, “Cybersecurity now goes hand-in-hand with connectivity. Every industry needs connectivity, so every industry needs to protect themselves from cybercrime
The portfolio comprises three services:
• Cyber Enhanced brings together cybersecurity experts and military-grade technology to offer levels of managed services that can be tailored to allow customers’ cybersecurity teams to focus on proactive security measures.
• IoT Enhanced is a suite of secure-by-design IoT solutions which Vodafone’s team custom builds to suit each customer’s business. Its on-shore support and storage solutions to meet the UK’s data sovereignty requirements.
• Mobile Enhanced services have end-to-end encryption, smart automation and centralised control, plus on-shore data storage and support from military-grade mobile and cyber security specialists.
Stephen Knibbs, Head of Vodafone Business Security Enhanced Services, said in an interview that the services are specific to the UK and will not be offered in Vodafone’s other markets.
Deciding where and how
He elaborated on the approach taken by the unit to provide the services saying, “If you look at an IoT example, you’re not going to spend money trying to protect every single endpoint…[and], the data from one sensor isn’t all that important [but] a collection from all the sensors into a platform and the way we interpret that data and present data, that’s what’s key.
“In that environment, you protect that core platform and the way that integrates into your network. That’s what we’ve done with the IoT.nxt solution [announced by Vodafone earlier this month].
“So rather than trying to protect that the single endpoint, which is cost prohibitive, it’s about working with organisations to understand their risk, but also to understand where the investment is best placed to maximise that protection…and…not hinder their use of technology.”