How MEF and Tenable are Advancing Digital Ecosystems
Digital ecosystems in the mobile sector are interconnected networks of platforms, services, and applications which unite to provide a clear user experience across devices. These ecosystems include operating systems (like iOS or Android), as well as app stores, cloud services and payment systems. Together, digital ecosystems across the mobile sector uphold security through updates, threat detection and authentication methods.
How the Mobile Ecosystem Forum is advancing the digital ecosystem
The Mobile Ecosystem Forum is run by members and for members involved in everything from Content & Advertising to Payments & Commerce, to ID & Data, to Connectivity & Wholesale and Enterprise Communications.
“A number of common threads also run across these different ecosystems, including regulation, technological developments, the fight against fraud, consumer trust and privacy,” says Gavin Patterson, Director of Data at the MEF.
MEF is currently in the process of building a new data-delivery platform and visualisation tool, which will enable them to deliver millions more data points tailored specifically to each of our individual ecosystems.
“Not surprisingly, this has been the priority for the data team so far this year,” Gavin explains.
Gavin joined in March 2023 to head up a new role focused on the research, development and delivery of data resources to MEF’s membership. This incorporates a range of small, medium and large companies delivering wide-ranging services, across diverse sectors, which together embody the entire mobile ecosystem.
“It is a very exciting position,” Gavin shares. “My own journey into the world of data is really one of organic evolution.”
Gavin’s career started 35 years ago, working for English-language daily newspapers in Hong Kong. After returning to the UK, Gavin became Editorial Director for a stable of B2B telecoms publications. “In 2010, with a former colleague, we set up Mobilesquared to research and deliver data insights into the burgeoning world of the mobile internet and, specifically, around mobile commerce, mobile advertising and mobile business messaging,” Gavin adds.
Now at MEF, Gavin released the first iteration of MEF Data, covering 218 countries rolled up to regional and global views of the general mobile ecosystem from each country.
“As the primary not-for-profit global trade association for the entire mobile ecosystem, you can understand that the remit is, to say the least, varied.”
The increasing use of smartphones and other connected mobile devices has seen a surge in the amount of data flowing through telecom networks and data analytics plays a pivotal role in driving improvements across various operational and strategic areas.
“I’d argue there is now widespread acceptance that utilising data management, data monitoring, benchmarking, or trend and pattern analysis can drive real benefits across all parts of the ecosystem,” Gavin continues. “Whether that be in terms of customer personalisation, network optimisation, operational efficiencies, revenue optimisation, fraud detection and even regulatory compliance.”
Gavin sees potential to transform the customer experience and thinks it has already been transformed to a large extent.
As mobile users, we are all now pretty familiar – if not 100% comfortable – with the fact that by signing up to certain mobile apps, or using certain mobile services, we agree to share some of our personal data and, hopefully, receive some form of benefit or value in return.
“In its simplest form, think how personalised recommendations are used to improve customer loyalty, segmentation strategies are used to enhance customer engagement, or predictive models are used to inform retention strategies and improve customer satisfaction,” Gavin adds.
In January, Claire Maslen joined the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF) as Programme Director for Commerce and Payments, where she is responsible for developing the programme on Commerce & Payments.
“I’m excited to be involved with MEF and have the opportunity to kick off a new ecosystem focussing on Payments & Commerce,” shared Claire.
Part of Claire’s work will be in Direct Carrier Billing (DCB), a mobile payment method which directly charges customers on their mobile phone bill when they make a purchase. MEF has a rich heritage in DCB, which has always been a fantastic resource for members and the wider community when it comes to knowledge in this area.
Claire is familiar with many of the digital ecosystems across the mobile sector, but it is Payments and Commerce which she sees as having potential for growth in developed and emerging markets.
“We speak a lot about the customer experience, but mobile also has a role to play for businesses – from a micro merchant being able to accept payments by tapping their phone against the phone of their customer, to a large retailer adopting UWB (Ultra Wide Band) and having truly seamless check out experience, there is so much opportunity.”
The current digital wallet experience is only delivering a fraction of the capability Claire envisages. With the introduction of AI into the handset operating systems, along with regulation to support alternative payment methods, she expects the next decade to be revolutionary.
“Over the past two decades or so, our mobile devices have become so embedded in our day to day activities, it was only natural that the Mobile Operators and handset vendors began to recognise the need to work with adjacent industries and deliver products and services that consumers really needed, healthcare, education, entertainment and of course financial services.
“From being able to access your mobile banking information, to the creation and daily use of digital wallets for payments, mobile is leading the way with the customer experience,” Claire says. “Paying for shopping, booking a taxi, buying event tickets, even splitting a bill with friends, have all become utilities through our mobiles. It’s what we expect as a minimum.”
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“Digital Wallets play a crucial role in this by adding security features and storing payment information to enable seamless transactions,” Claire concludes. “I think our Wallets will become smarter and offer more opportunities around protecting our personal data.”
Ultimately, the identification and reduction - if not elimination – of fraudulent and malicious activity across all mobile services will be the most transformative in terms of customer experience and something Gavin and Claire are both committed to driving forward in MEF.
This is also a goal shared by computer network security company Tenable, which empowers organisations to understand and reduce cyber risks.
Tenable's role in strengthening digital ecosystems
More than two decades ago, Tenable pioneered the IT vulnerability management market as the creator of Nessus, which is now the world’s most widely deployed IT vulnerability assessment solution. Given the rising severity and frequency of cyber attacks that commonly occur due to a lack of basic cyber hygiene, assessing the attack surface for security weaknesses has never been more important.
Digital transformation has opened up a whole new world of cloud, DevOps, mobility and IoT, where everything from conference systems to power grids are now connected devices and are a part of the new, modern attack surface. Today's attack surface is continually expanding and evolving making it extremely difficult to secure, but Tenable is on the case.
“Today, more than 44,000 organisations around the world rely on Tenable to help them understand and reduce cybersecurity risk across their attack surface - in the cloud or on-premises, from IT to OT and beyond,” says Bernard Montel, EMEA Technical Director and Security Strategist at Tenable. “Our goal is to arm every organisation, no matter how large or small, with the visibility and insight needed to answer four critical questions at all times: Where are we exposed? Where should we prioritise based on risk? Are we reducing our exposure over time? How do we compare to our peers?”
Bernard has worked in the technology sector for the whole of his adult life, with his security career starting in the 2000s, when he joined RSA, where he worked across a range of subjects including cryptography, multi-factor authentication, I&AM, Online fraud and Risk Management among others.
As his expertise grew, Bernard rose through the ranks, eventually leading a team of engineers in the Threat Detection & Response domain (SOC), as well as playing guitar and bass for non-profit organisations and occasions.
“At Tenable, my focus is on helping organisations understand and practise ‘exposure management’. The principle is preventive cybersecurity strategies and practices that help organisations strengthen defences to thwart successful attacks and incursions,” he says. “As part of this, I regularly write opinion pieces, provide content for webinars, and regularly speak about cybersecurity at conferences and events providing insight into current cybersecurity threats.”
Bernard believes that digital ecosystems across the mobile sector will continue to evolve, introducing new devices to enable working practices that organisations will take advantage of, capitalising on functionality to deliver greater flexibility and opportunities.
The flip side is that this will introduce further complexity that security teams will need to secure.
“Research published earlier this year by Kaspersky claimed that there were 33.8m cyber attacks impacting mobile devices in 2023, a 50% increase year over year,” he says. “Warnings that detail attacks against mobile devices affecting both Android and Apple devices are almost daily.”
Tenable sees attackers demonstrably trying to compromise IoT devices more and more often. One example is the new variant of the P2Pinfect botnet, discovered in December 2023 which specifically targets web-enabled devices, routers and other embedded systems.
“This is just one of many examples - after all, botnet malware is now easily available as open source via criminal forums. Once infected, the IoT devices are integrated into the attackers' botnets via attack payloads, which are typically based on malware such as Mirai or Gafgyt, and then used for DoS attacks against attractive targets,” he explains.
Industry standards and legal regulations have been introduced to improve the protection of IoT devices, such as The EU’s Cyber Resilience Act, which is currently going through council and imposes upon manufacturers of digital products a ‘duty of care’ which lasts a product’s lifetime.
Echoing sentiments shared by MEF, Bernard warns that companies should not be lulled into a false sense of security, that they are optimally protected just because they have ticked the right boxes on the right checklist.
“Each business and facility is ultimately responsible for defining and implementing secure processes to reliably protect their infrastructures - including IoT devices,” he says.
While no mobile operator is immune to security threats, digital ecosystems in the mobile sector significantly enhance the overall security of mobile technology.
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