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Europol survey – Telecoms fraud is on the rise

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Europol, the European Union’s police agency, has published a report stating that telecoms fraud is costing over 29 billion Euros every year. The survey on cyber-telecom crime was conducted by Europol’s European cybercrime center (EC3) and cyber security specialist Trend Micro. This report underlines that telecom fraud is becoming a low-risk alternative to traditional financial crime, and due to the reduced cost and increased availability of hacking equipment, this type of fraud is on the rise. According to Europol, the most common methods of telecom fraud are vishing, where people are persuaded to disclose personal details, Wangiri, where people are tricked into calling back to expensive numbers, and international revenue sharing fraud (IRSF) that is claimed to be “the most damaging fraud scheme to date”. Describing IRSF, Europol stated: “It involves transferring monetary value from one carrier to another, based on the inter-carrier trust between telecom operators. Patient fraudsters…

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Phone number porting – things you need to know when making the switch

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Do you want to change your telecommunication service provider, but need to keep your current phone number? This process is called number portability, and defines the mechanism and procedures that allow you to switch from one phone network service provider to another in any Licensed Service Area (LSA), while maintaining your existing number. Number portability offers customers the right to exercise their choice in selecting a service provider and, at the same time, avoid the inconvenience of being allocated a new phone number. This important facility provides the customer with freedom-of-choice and, as a result, generates competition among service providers encouraging lower tariffs, improved services and enhanced Quality of Service (QoS) of the networks. It is important to note that the portability feature only concerns the phone number, and is not applicable to services. In this article we focus on the complete porting process from start to finish and, at…

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Google punished in France for violating the GDPR

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The National Data Protection Commission (CNIL), France’s data protection office, has imposed a fine of €50 million against Google LLC for breaching the European Union online data privacy rules. This is the first major case where a fine is being imposed under the EU’s stringent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that came into force last year. The French watchdog found the US search engine giant guilty of “lack of transparency, inadequate information, and lack of valid consent regarding ad personalisation.” This case stems from concerns that were raised over Google’s applied methods of collecting data, and the lack of clear options provided for the users to consent to personalised ads. “The general structure of the information chosen by the company does not enable [it] to comply with the Regulation,” read a CNIL statement. “Essential information, such as the data processing purposes, the data storage periods or the categories…

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All smartphones in EU to include Galileo satellite compatibility

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To improve emergency services and to better locate callers, The European Commission has approved a regulation that will require new smartphones to include satellite and Wi-Fi location. The integrated chipset with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) must deliver access to the EU’s satellite system Galileo, which provides accurate positioning and timing information. Currently, most emergency services are faced with the challenge of only being able to locate troubled mobile callers within an area of several kilometers. However, the proposed use of satellite and Wi-Fi systems will enable 112 emergency number callers to be located within a range of less than 100 meters. Galileo-enabled devices receive signals for positioning, navigation and timing. This satellite system has been servicing around 400 million users, and this summer the system was supplemented by four more satellites, which were successfully launched from the European spaceport. Every additional satellite steadily improves Galileo’s performance, and,…

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New real-time Oculeus service fights telecoms fraud

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Oculeus, an innovative telecommunications software provider from Germany, has announced the launch of a cloud-based fraud protection service. The new solution, branded with the name Oculeus-Protect, is designed to meet the growing needs for security in the enterprise telecoms industry. The new fraud protection service is supported by the company’s regional cloud environment, and is currently available throughout Europe, and North and South America. The software provider defines the new service as “a real-time telecoms fraud protection service that provides enterprises an intelligent and automated framework to efficiently prevent false charges resulting from unauthorized usage of enterprise telecommunication channels by cybercriminals and other perpetrators of telecom fraud”. They claim that the software is able of block fraudulent telecommunications traffic within milliseconds, and have positioned the service to be totally independent of user’s telecommunications service provider. “There is a clear and definite need for our new telecoms fraud protection service,”…

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Telefonica and IBM partnership for international call blockchain

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The global telecom giants are increasingly acknowledging the benefits of blockchain technology.  Telefonica, a Spanish multinational telecommunications company, has signed a partnership with IBM, a leader in open-source blockchain solutions, to employ IBM blockchain technology for superior administration of international call traffic. Telefonica expects that the usage of the cloud-based IBM Blockchain Platform will help to improve the traceability of international call data, such as the origin of the call, its destination and duration. They will be able to detect fraud and address other challenges caused by the use of different networks and operators when routing international calls. Operators will have permissioned access to a decentralized platform, and perform real-time tracing of calls to achieve accurate billing processes. “This project is one of our first initiatives to secure real benefits from the adoption of blockchain in our core business. We believe that the new paradigm of process decentralization…

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Apple finally acquires Shazam

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On Monday 24th September, Apple announced that it has finally completed the acquisition of Shazam, an application that helps users identify songs, TV shows, commercials and movies. The takeover of one of the highest rating music apps by the technology giant is said to be valued at 400 million US dollars. “Apple and Shazam have a long history together. Shazam was one of the first apps available when we launched the App Store and has become a favorite app for music fans everywhere. With a shared love of music and innovation, we are thrilled to bring our teams together to provide users even more great ways to discover, experience and enjoy music,” commented the vice president of Apple Music, Oliver Schusser. The application has already been downloaded more than 1 billion times, and remains one of the most popular places to interact with peers by discovering and sharing favorite songs,…

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Nokia commits to 5G development with a 500 million Euro loan

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Nokia has signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a loan of 500 million Euros (572 million US dollars) to accelerate the development of cutting edge 5G technology. This loan, supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), will present opportunities for the Finnish telecom equipment manufacturer to invest in the research, development and innovation of the soon-to-be telecommunication standard technology, thereby expanding the market and displaying the potential of 5G in Europe. “We have to understand that China and the US have moved fast with the 5G. It is very important to have European companies going in for this competition,” commented the EIB vice president Alexander Stubb in the online Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. While the specific uses for the funds have not yet been identified, it is clear that Nokia’s end-to-end network will greatly benefit from this loan by ensuring the connectivity and reliability…

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Huawei overtakes Apple in smartphone sales in Q2

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The Chinese equipment manufacturer Huawei recently expressed its intention to surpass Apple in the smartphone market in 2018, and it seems that these plans are becoming a reality. According to IDC, Huawei shipped 54.2 million mobile devices units in the second quarter and moved to the second position, only to be outpaced by the ultimate leader Samsung. Looking at the total market share from Q2, Samsung maintains a strong 20.9%, while Huawei controls 15.8%, closely followed by Apple’s 12.1%. “The continued growth of Huawei is impressive, to say the least, as is its ability to move into markets where, until recently, the brand was largely unknown,” commented the program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, Ryan Reith. Huawei’s recent push into Europe, the Middle East and India has secured its position among the top smartphone manufacturers. And while the US carriers are still instructed by the government to…

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ZTE extends partnership with Hutchinson Drei Austria on 5G

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The global telecommunications solutions provider ZTE and the mobile operator Hutchinson Drei Austria announced another strategic step to expand their partnership in preparation for the 5G rollout in Austria. The cooperation between mobile operators and telecommunications equipment providers is fundamental for the implementation of this cutting-edge technology, and a Joint Innovation Lab initiative was launched to develop, test and optimize the latest 5G technology solutions. The ten-year partnership between ZTE Austria and Hutchinson Drei Austria has already shown great results in upgrading the network for higher quality standards and service improvements, as demonstrated in the most recent Pre-5G trials in Austria. “The first result of the joint innovation initiative was the successful evaluation of the Pre-5G technology, which enabled us to create a commercial Pre-5G in Vienna already at the beginning of this year. This move was a breakthrough in the European telecoms market, which made Austria a true 5G…

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