Nokia’s IPsec Security Gateway Provides Reliable, Customizable Security
With the exponential growth of data traffic and the proliferation of connected devices, the vulnerability of networks to cyber threats – and the need to protect against them – has never been greater. In response to these challenges, network operators must adopt robust security measures to safeguard IP traffic and manage digital identities effectively.
Nokia’s IPsec Security Gateway is a formidable barrier against security breaches, mitigating the risk of costly customer churn resulting from compromised data integrity or unauthorized access. By implementing this solution, businesses can instill confidence in their clientele, assuring them of the safety and privacy of their sensitive information.
Engineered to comply with 3GPP standards, it’s reliable and can be tailored to meet your organization’s specific security requirements, whether operating in the public sector or managing mission-critical applications. By prioritizing the integrity and confidentiality of customer data, your organization can demonstrate a commitment to excellence that resonates with discerning clientele.
Telecommunications Networks Are Frequent Cyberattack Targets
The integrity and confidentiality of IP traffic are critical to ensuring that network data – including confidential and personal identifying information – remains secure. Threat actors continuously target telecommunications networks to exploit vulnerabilities and compromise sensitive information. From financial transactions to critical infrastructure operations, the stakes of network security have never been higher. Network operators must proactively deploy advanced security solutions to mitigate risks and protect against emerging threats.
To help network operators meet these security goals, Nokia has developed a robust security portfolio, including the IPsec Security Gateway—a formidable defense against unauthorized access and data breaches.
By encrypting IP traffic crossing unsecured networks, the Security Gateway ensures the confidentiality and integrity of data transmissions. Leveraging 3GPP-compliant standards, this solution offers unparalleled security capabilities while enabling seamless connectivity across diverse network environments. Organizations – government agencies and enterprises – rely on the IPsec Security Gateway to safeguard their most sensitive communications and applications.
Three Pillars of IP Traffic Security
IP traffic is susceptible to attacks as it traverses unsecured or third-party networks. Transport links may be vulnerable to interception even within supposedly secure networks, while insider threats further compound the risk.
The Nokia 7750 Service Router (SR)-based Security Gateway and Nokia NetGuard Certificate Manager (NCM) stand as formidable defenses, offering IP security (IPsec) protection with three fundamental functions:
Authentication
Verifying the identities of network endpoints to prevent unauthorized access.
Integrity
Ensuring data remains unaltered during transmission, safeguarding against tampering and manipulation.
Confidentiality
Encrypting data to prevent eavesdropping and unauthorized interception, preserving the privacy of sensitive information.
By incorporating these pillars into its security architecture, Nokia empowers network operators to mitigate risks and maintain the trust of their customers in an increasingly interconnected world.
Nokia Virtualized Security Gateway
The Nokia Security Gateway enables the establishment of secure tunnels between network endpoints while encrypting traffic to ensure its safe passage across these tunnels. As a core feature of the Nokia Service Router Operating System (SR OS), it operates seamlessly on the 7750 SR platforms.
The Security Gateway is also quite adaptable to modern infrastructures, offering a virtualized network function on the Nokia Virtualized Service Router (VSR). This versatility allows for seamless integration into cloud architectures, catering to the evolving needs of network deployments. Both deployment options, whether on physical 7750 SR platforms or as a virtualized function on VSR, boast industry-leading capacity and throughput, ensuring optimal performance in diverse network environments.
Operational Benefits and Features of Nokia’s IPsec Security Gateway
The operational benefits of the IPsec Security Gateway are profound:
- High Capacity and Throughput: Supports up to 500,000 IPsec tunnels per chassis with up to 960 Gb/s IPsec throughput, suitable for extensive network operations.
- Cost-Effective Deployment: Can be deployed on various hardware platforms, supporting centralized and distributed architectures, optimizing network resources and reducing operational costs.
- Carrier-Grade Reliability: Features like non-stop routing, fast convergence, and multi-chassis stateful synchronization ensure high availability and service continuity.
Versatility and Scalability
The IPsec Security Gateway is not only versatile, supporting integration with RAN, core, and transport networks across all generational technologies (3G, 4G, 5G), but also scalable. It can handle macro and small cells and carrier Wi-Fi, making it a comprehensive solution for diverse network environments.
Deployment Flexibility
Nokia’s solution offers significant deployment flexibility. It can be implemented as a standalone security gateway or integrated into the data plane of other network functions. This flexibility ensures it can adapt to various network demands and architectural requirements, supporting multiple deployment scenarios.
Strategic Importance for Network Operators
For network operators, the IPsec Security Gateway is not just a tool for enhancing network security—it is a strategic asset that protects core network infrastructures and subscriber data against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. Its deployment leads to improved service quality and customer trust, imperative for competitive differentiation in the telecommunications industry.
NetGuard Certificate Manager
IPsec necessitates digital certificates for authentication purposes. Managed by the trusted certification authority, the NetGuard Certificate Manager (NCM) oversees the entire lifecycle of digital identities in a standardized and secure manner. It simplifies and fortifies this process by establishing a public key infrastructure (PKI) compliant with the 3GPP TS 33.210, 33.310, and 33.401 standards.
Through NCM, users can ensure the secure authentication of various entities, including users, devices, applications, and systems, without resorting to tokens, passwords, or other non-standardized authentication methods. Its distributed architecture facilitates the deployment of over 100 million active certificates, ensuring scalability and resilience across networks of varying sizes and complexities.
Charting the Course Towards Enhanced Security
The security of telecommunications networks remains a paramount concern in an era defined by digital transformation and connectivity. Through the deployment of advanced security solutions such as the IPsec Security Gateway, Nokia Virtualized Security Gateway, and NetGuard Certificate Manager, network operators can fortify their defenses against evolving threats and uphold the trust of their customers. By embracing innovation and collaboration, the telecommunications industry charts a course toward enhanced security, resilience, and trust in the digital age.
The NetGuard Certificate Manager offers many benefits, including:
Scalability to support over 100 million security certificates.
Rapid certificate operations, with support for up to 10,000 operations per hour.
Milliseconds intra-site failover for uninterrupted service continuity.
Fully redundant architecture with geo-redundancy for carrier-grade reliability.
About Infinity Technology Solutions
Infinity Technology Solutions specializes in broadband and critical communications infrastructure development. We help our channel partners create and deploy private wireless, microwave backhaul, IP/MPLS, and optical networking technologies.
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