£100,000 Fine? 4 Cybersecurity Obligations UK Telecos Must Follow To Keep Their Fortune

Telecommunication companies within the United Kingdom must adhere to the Telecommunications Security Act (TSA) from now onwards or else they may have to part ways with 10% of their turnover or over £100,000 per day in fines.

Ever since the TSA laws were implemented in 2021, one of the key responsibilities that they were entrusted with was to establish the groundwork for the UK government to implement stricter cybersecurity and data management measures, with special emphasis on mobile phones and fixed broadband operators.

The Government has published its response to the consultation on proposals for new telecoms security regulations and code of practice under the Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021, and will move forward with new obligations coming into force in October https://t.co/HLEs6UZ2Mu

— Handley Gill Limited (@HandleyGillLtd) August 31, 2022

The Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman recently expressed that even though mobile phones and broadbands are essential to our way of life, cyber attacks on these devices and services can lead to extensive damage to the country and its people.

Warman has therefore pledged to impose some of the most stringent telecom security laws in the world in order to protect the public from such threats that presently exist or may appear in the future.

Here are the four obligations that UK telecom companies must adhere to, in order to protect themselves from losing a fortune in fines on a daily basis:

1. Protecting the data that gets processed by their respective networks and services while also securing the important functions that give them access to manage that data.
2. Ensure that the software and equipment that are used to analyse their networks and services are safe.
3. Understand the potential security risks and successfully identify the atypical activities that may be taking place while reporting regularly to the internal boards.
4. Take account of supply chain risks, and understand and control who has the ability to access and make changes to the operation of their networks and services to enhance security.

Since March 2022, the government has been consulting on the obligations that have been set in place by TSA. However, the post-consulting changes were announced earlier this week.

Having said that, it will not be easy for telecommunication companies to enforce the recommendations, especially because of the ever-growing complexities that come along with the modern-day telecom networks.