Recently, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Bahrain (TRA) held a cyber security drill at Wyndham Grand, testing the operators' ability to handle cyber threats. According to the Fifth Telecommunications Plan (NTP-5) published earlier this year, regular cyber drills will be conducted to assess the sector's readiness to deal with cyber and physical threats, and to take into account risks exacerbated by new technologies.
As a regulator, the TRA is responsible to protect the interests of telecom subscribers and users. Such exercises enable the sector to practice procedures, test business continuity plans, enhance skills and knowledge, and strengthen preparedness. Further, these exercises enable participants and observers to identify the gaps in the processes and procedures applied to handle incidents by verifying the extent of coordination and collaboration amongst Licensees. Ultimately, to ensure that the critical telecom infrastructure is resilient, thereby providing efficient services to end-users.
“It is essential to conduct cyber drill exercises in order to improve the response to security incidents as well as ensure network resilience“, says TRA’s General Director, Mr. Philip Marnick, “It entails early preparation for network security incident handling after establishing a process for defending the organization. Cyber drill exercises in the telecom sector will ensure that cybersecurity problems are effectively addressed and resolved. They are also significant as they establish the requirement for proper contingency plans” he added.
The event was held in collaboration with Cyber Ranges by Silensec, an international information security training and management firm and an official cyber range provider of the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Dr. Al Graziano, CEO at CYBER RANGES, stated: “Cyber drills offer organizations in the telecom and other industries the opportunity not only of validating the capability of their incident response teams on a regular basis, but also of accelerating the development of a competent cybersecurity workforce against current and emerging threats. On our next-generation cyber range telcos can build high-fidelity replicas of their critical infrastructure and carry out deep-dive, hands-on simulations of potential crises to test their stand and resilience against cyber risk.”
Source: Press Release