Communication channels facilitate the transmission of information across users or devices. The increasing adoption of mobile communication systems with smart technologies have blurred the isolation of communication and computing devices to Unified Information and Communication systems. This rapid progression and unification of communication and computing technologies have also opened multiple vectors for attacks, numerous threats, and vulnerabilities. Hence, it is essential for a security professional to understand and apply suitable security controls to address modern-day threats and vulnerabilities in communication technologies, such as voice, multimedia, remote access, data communications, mobile communications, and virtualized networks.
In Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which is a convergence of data communication and voice communication technologies, security requirements focus primarily on data integrity, service availability, and identity assurance. The traditional circuit-based telephony networks are being rapidly replaced with packet-switching-based data networks. Thus, end-to-end protection for devices, communication channels, and operator networks from unauthorized access and compromise from external networks become a priority requirement while designing and implementing communication networks.
The following are some of the common security requirements in ICT systems: