Secure the networks everyone else depends on: mobile cores and radio access, signalling, SIM and eSIM, 5G and its cloud-native core, and network virtualisation.
Estimated time: 15–30 months · At about 10 hours a week.
Learning path
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SS7, Diameter and GTP carry signalling between and within operators. They were built on trust and are still abused for tracking, interception and fraud.
Telecoms are critical infrastructure with national security rules, such as the UK Telecommunications Security Act and the EU 5G Toolbox. Know what applies.
Secure network slices, Open RAN and edge computing.
Run operator detection and response.
Manage network equipment assurance.
Protect sensitive functions such as lawful intercept.
Hands-on projects and labs
Map an attack on a 5G network using MITRE FiGHT and design detections for it.
Design slice isolation for a critical-services slice in the lab core.
Done when you can…
Produce a security design for slices and edge computing.
Build detections mapped to FiGHT for a lab network.
Advanced
Network slicing security
Slices share infrastructure but serve very different customers, from consumers to hospitals. Isolate them properly and manage their security separately.
Telecom networks carry calls, messages and data for everyone, and underpin identity through SMS and SIMs. They combine decades of legacy signalling protocols with modern cloud-native 5G cores built from software and virtualised network functions.
Telecom security covers the radio access network, the core and its signalling, subscriber identity and SIM security, interconnect with other operators, virtualisation and cloud infrastructure, and the regulation that treats telecoms as critical national infrastructure.
Why it matters
Attacks on telecoms enable mass surveillance, fraud, SIM swapping and outages that affect whole countries. As 5G cores move to cloud-native software, operators and vendors need people who understand both telecom protocols and modern infrastructure security.
Typical job roles
EntryTelecom security analystMonitors signalling and network security alerts.
Mid-levelTelecom security engineerSecures core, RAN and signalling infrastructure.
Senior5G security architectDesigns security for 5G cores and slices.
LeadHead of network security (operator)Owns security for an operator's network.
NIS2 DirectiveThe EU law that sets security and incident reporting duties for essential and important organisations.
NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0A common way to describe and improve an organisation's security, organised as Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover.
ISO/IEC 27001The international standard for an information security management system (ISMS), and the one organisations get certified against.