Security challenges to telecommunication networks: An overview of threats and preventive strategies

Security challenges to telecommunication networks have been a matter of concern to the international community within the last two decades. Telecommunication infrastructure that provides the necessary backbone for information exchange such as voice, video, data, and Internet connectivity have been found to be particularly vulnerable to various forms of attacks. Some of these attacks could lead to denial of service, loss of integrity and confidentiality of network services. Protecting these networks from attacks is thus an important aspect that cannot be ignored. This paper highlights some of the important security challenges to current telecommunication networks and recommends countermeasures that can be implemented to mitigate not only infrastructural insecurity but also the risk from cyber-attacks. One of which is security by default that aims at designing systems that can repair themselves when breaches are detected.