Gabriele Lieser
CUSTOMER SUCCESS MANAGER
Introduction
Our experts here at RoamsysNext and friendly companies are very passionate about their respective fields, such as Dr. Andreas Gniffke, Head of Client Services and Marketing, who never tires of promoting clean, well-structured and accurate partner data to keep fraudsters out of the network. Hendrik Hoehndorf, CTO, is already looking forward to the release of an up-to-date and very automated platform that provides the details of high-risk numbers (and many other indicators of compromise). Alexandre De Oliveira, Telecom Security Expert at POST Luxembourg, makes the case for sharing fraud information between trusted partners and groups on the GSMA Malware Information Sharing and Threat Intelligence Sharing Platform (MISP). Norbert Becker, Head of Development, talks about ensuring the perfect balance between security and usability, not least by introducing two-factor authentication for all our customers. Milja Hofman, CEO at Roamingwise, has already developed special courses on cutting-edge topics such as VoLTE, M2M, eSIM, IoT, LPWAN and 5G. Florian Mayer, Business Analyst, investigates the data himself and helps our customers with the planned switch-off dates of 2G and 3G networks in our Wholesale Roaming Manager Toolkit. David Houstek, Head of Product Management, and his colleague Adrian von Wendt eliminate pain points in our tools as quickly as possible through regular application releases.
In RoamsysNext Insights our experts share their views on extensive industry topics and possible solutions we can offer.
Over the past few months, our experts at RoamsysNext and friendly companies have shared their views and expertise on broad industry topics and potential solutions they can offer. RoamsysNext Insights has a growing following through its blog posts, inspiring both beginners and professionals. This happens for a good reason: when it comes to their respective topics related to fraud detection and prevention, our experts are bursting with great information and exciting insights. They also work meticulously to improve security aspects within our established tools and develop new tools around fraud intelligence. It is a great privilege to meet with such proven experts and masters in their field. That’s why we decided to put everyone in the spotlight once again and summarize their key insights.
When it comes to data quality, Dr. Andreas Gniffke, Head of Client Services and Marketing at RoamsysNext, gets excited. As a long-time employee of the company, he has witnessed how the GSMA established the RAEX standard for the exchange of IR.21 documents. The RAEX tool guarantees that all mandatory elements needed for network node configuration are fully included and presented in a standardized format. RoamsysNext is the GSMA’s exclusive provider of RAEX solutions and ensures that high quality data is achieved once a document enters the IREG toolbox, i.e. our solution for network node configuration. Call Andreas the “Marie Kondo of data quality”, but one thing is for sure: if you keep your partner data clean, well-structured and correct, you have already closed many possible entry gates for fraudsters.
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There is good news
Cybersecurity and fraud prevention are difficult. As the pandemic has progressed, malicious actors have become more organized, sophisticated, and brazen. The daily service of fraud and security analysts still requires a lot of manual work, making it difficult to keep a vigilant eye on the threat landscape. Hendrik Hoehndorf, CTO at RoamsysNext, knows the industry inside and out. He speaks up for an all-encompassing platform that provides up-to-date information to technical security professionals to simplify and validate the proper configuration of every roaming-related network element. Using the latest technologies and working with the GSMA, we set out to improve aspects of fraud detection. The good news is: In the near future, there will be an easy-to-use platform that reveals the details of high-risk numbers, suspicious number ranges, MCC/MNC codes and operator IP ranges in a highly automated and curated manner. Read article
It’s anything but “Tom and Jerry”
We have a long and trusting partnership with POST Luxembourg, the Grand Duchy’s main telecommunications provider. Together, we have developed a whole range of innovative products and product features that make life easier for many customers around the world. Alexandre De Oliveira, Telecom Security Expert, is part of the POST Cyberforce team set up to anticipate and combat fraud and security incidents. In our interview, he talked about the growing complexity of today’s fraud landscapes, and how fraud detection and prevention is so much more than a cat-and-mouse game with malicious actors. Even more acute, he advocates sharing fraud information between trusted partners and trusted groups to prevent fraud incidents from repeating. This not only saves valuable resources, but also helps to shorten the lifetime of attacks and makes it difficult for attackers to stay in business. In recent years, there has been a notable evolution of platforms and standards that help organizations collect, organize, share and source threat intelligence, such as the GSMA Malware Information Sharing and Threat Intelligence Sharing Platform (MISP). It is a service provided free of charge to GSMA members!
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Security First!
Talking about security and fraud prevention: what do we actually do to help secure our users’ access to our tools? Well, in 2020 we have made 2FA (two-factor authentication) available to all of our customers. This means that after activation, users keep their usual password but have to install a dedicated authentication app. Norbert Becker, Head of Development at RoamsysNext, finds that when it comes to security technologies, developers should always aim for the perfect balance between security and usability. Bothering users with complicated login processes can cause them to bypass the extra layers of security. Our main goal is to help MNOs maintain a high level of security during the validation and update of roaming configurations. There are many other security options worth considering in the future, but for now we are pleased to offer our customers a trusted and easy-to-use option that secures their tools in a reliable and user-friendly way.
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The Future of Roaming Trainings
Thinking about security and such… We had an interesting conversation with Milja Hofman, CEO at Roamingwise, a well-known provider of roaming training, seminars and consulting on a variety of international roaming topics. With the pandemic forcing everyone to rethink and evolve, Milja has already developed specialized courses on cutting-edge topics such as VoLTE, M2M, eSIM, IoT, LPWAN, 5G; and another topic has become very important these days: fraud intelligence and security. For Milja, giving roaming trainings is more than a job, it’s a vocation that requires enjoying technical topics and working with people’s creativity. Her experience with online training has shown that it is a good alternative to on-site training. They offer ideal conditions for continuing to train new generations of excellent roaming specialists who can master the ever-growing innovations and challenges in this field.
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Goodbye 2G and 3G!
While LTE and 4G have become the standard and the era of 5G is taking off, there are still many end users holding on to their old devices. With regard to 2G and 3G closures, this kind of nostalgia poses many challenges for MNOS. In addition, managing your own network is one side of the medal, but how do you deal with roaming partners closing their legacy technologies? Our Business Analyst Florian Mayer is part of the RoamsysNext Client Services team and our “Swiss Army Knife” when it comes to metadata. Since there is no global roadmap for 2G and 3G sunsets, he collects data from many different sources to relieve our clients of this tedious work and provide them with timely and regular up-to-date data in our Wholesale Roaming Manager Toolkit. The data is carefully researched and constantly updated. If MNOs want to help the community, we recommend them to have a look at the “Networks” section of the RAEX IR.21: there already is a dedicated field for announcing the planned shutdown dates of 2G and 3G networks. This is actually the perfect place to inform their partners. According to our research, only a handful of MNOs enter their sunset dates there, which is a real pity.
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From Customer Request to Feature
“Future-proofing our current and upcoming customers” is one of our company mottos. Our Software-as-a-Service tools are very flexible when it comes to customer requests and individual requirements. To eliminate pain points as quickly as possible, improvements are implemented promptly through regular application releases. Our goal is to provide users with software that makes their daily work easier without requiring them to learn new tools from scratch or attend lengthy training sessions. The product development team is led by RoamsysNext veteran David Houstek and his colleague Adrian von Wendt. They gather input, set priorities, and incorporate them into the development roadmap. Even with RAEX schema releases provided by the GSMA, users and working groups, customer feedback often leads to schema changes to make the standard more flexible and achieve greater adoption.
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Making MNOs future-proof
With our series of blog posts, RoamsysNext Insights aims to provide useful information and special insights to keep customers up to date. For more than 12 years, RoamsysNext has specialized in software development and project management. Since 2009, we have been the exclusive provider of RAEX solutions for the GSMA. We offer the only GSMA compliant hub solution on the market and serve our customers with excellent service and competitive pricing. Already more than 700 MNOs around the world rely on our tools and services. If you would like to learn more about our products, just get in touch at info@roamsys.com. We will be happy to help you and always find great solutions for your requests.
Gabriele Lieser joined RoamsysNext in 2020 as Customer Success Manager to strengthen the bonds with our increasing number of customers and to support the marketing team. Gabriele has a strong background in corporate sales. She studied at the Universities of Trier (Germany) and Manitoba (Canada) and is incorporated in the RoamsysNext Client Service team.
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Historical Fraud Incidents and Lessons to be learned
In the course of history, no era is free from the practice of deception for personal benefit. Let’s have a look at what we can learn from historic fraud cases from ancient Greece to modern times.
Two-Factor Authentication rules!
For some time now, we have introduced 2FA and have contributed our share to provide more secure access to our tools. Norbert Becker, Head of Software Development, picks up the thread and provides engaging insights into his area of responsibility.
Introducing: The RoamsysNext Network Configuration Optimizer
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Introducing: The RoamsysNext Wholesale Roaming Manager
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Don’t fear the breach – three more ways to avoid configuration errors
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We’re in this together
In the second part of our interview with Alexandre De Oliveira, POST Luxembourg Cyberforce, he highlights major pain points in fraud detection and stresses the importance of global information sharing via the GSMA T-ISAC initiative.
Mastering today’s Fraud Landscape
Learn how Alexandre De Oliveira’s team at POST Luxembourg Cyberforce is mastering today’s fraud landscape with penetration tests, security assessments, the Telecom Intrusion Detection System (TIDS) and the Telecom Security Scanner (TSS).
How to avoid configuration errors
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From customer request to feature
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Making a Stand against Fraud
In an insightful interview, our CTO, Hendrik Hoehndorf, speaks about further GSMA initiatives on fraud detection and prevention such as the MISP (Malware Information Sharing Platform) and T-ISAC (Telecommunication Information Sharing and Analysis Centre).
Cyber security and fraud prevention – the GSMA approach
How does the GSMA approach cyber security, fraud detection and prevention? Look at the incredible useful tools and informations they provide with the Fraud and Security Group (FASG) and documents on best practice countermeasures.
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How bad can it get? Signaling attacks strike the heart of each MNO
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Grey Routes, Spam, Smish – funny words but nothing funny about SMS Fraud
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4 more Types of Telecom Voice Fraud MNOs are vulnerable to
Voice fraud is known as one of the top inter-carrier fraud cases, and in order to expose them, time and reliable data is crucial. This article shows that prevention is key to make sure that legitimate traffic is not obstructed.
Three Types of Telecom Voice Fraud that can destroy businesses
This issue shines a light on the variety of security breaches and fraud incidents: A cabinet of horrors.
Problems with telecom fraud? How big the issue really is. And how we can help
Fraud and security issues cause considerable problems within mobile network operators. But we are here to help.
Let’s talk about data quality
Most fraud and security issues are caused by misconfigured network nodes. This article shows, how RoamsysNext treats this problem on their quest for data quality.
