How Juniper Networks Hopes to Boost stc’s 5G Security
Saudi Telecom Company’s (stc) 5G security deployment is to be boosted with the help of Juniper Networks and automation technology.
A strategic software upgrade aims to drive sustainable business growth through improved user experiences, enhanced security performance and lower costs. As a result, both companies have announced the two companies have worked together to enhance stc’s network security gateway (SGi) infrastructure with new automation features within its existing Juniper SRX next-generation firewall deployment.
These new capabilities are designed to elevate user experiences, increase capacity and lower costs while maintaining the highest security efficacy and sustainability commitments.
“stc is relentless in the pursuit of faster, more secure offerings at a lower cost and with a tangible consideration for sustainability. Juniper’s latest innovations with automation software and its feature-rich security capabilities have enabled stc to unlock unparalleled next-generation firewall performance and significantly reduce power and space consumption,” shares Bader Allhieb, Infrastructure VP at stc.
Embracing 5G security development
stc has fully embraced Juniper’s AI-Native Security approach, which is a critical part of the Juniper AI-Native Networking Platform.
Just last week, Juniper Networks announced stc would be expanding its 5G services to reach a total of 75 cities and regions. By using Juniper 400G routers in its Converged Supercore network and data centres, stc stands to improve network capacity, performance and scale. This is all whilst reducing energy use and aligning with its ongoing digital transformation agenda.
Incorporating automation into its infrastructure further hopes to streamline operations and optimise efficiency to ensure a more seamless user experience.
- As stc planned its 5G services expansion, it needed to increase the capacity of the core network and key data centres powering its business and operational support systems for mobile, broadband, residential and B2B services
By building end-to-end next-generation security rather than as an overlay, stc will be able to leverage better insight, automation and actions to protect users, applications and infrastructure.
This creates a fully threat-aware, high-performance environment for stc’s customers while keeping attackers - or cybercriminals - at bay.
Bader adds: “We can now continue to deliver the best possible user experience simply, responsibly and economically, differentiating stc as we continue in the 5G era.”
Meeting rising demands, whilst prioritising digital safety
Juniper Networks’ Automated Express Path+ software has been activated in stc’s Juniper Networks SRX 5800 Firewalls without the need for the company to invest in new hardware. The new software automates the identification and accelerated flow of data.
Such an upgraded security deployment can now process data efficiently up to 48% faster than before.
Likewise, stc’s automation upgrade has enabled the company to gain significant CapEx and OpEx savings by streamlining the infrastructure’s overall efficiency.
For instance, the power consumption required to run the SRX gateways is reduced by up to 30%, concurrently supporting sustainability by allowing the deployment of more potent systems within a compact footprint.
As a result, there is a substantial reduction in the cost per gigabit processed.
The cyber threat landscape across the telco industry is changing, particularly as businesses and individuals rely more heavily on technology.
According to Nokia’s recent Threat Intelligence Report, attacks like Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have surged dramatically, with cybercriminals using AI and automation to enhance their capabilities and exploit the digital vulnerabilities of businesses.
- From June 2023 to June 2024, many networks experienced over 100 DDoS attacks per day (Source: Nokia Threat Intelligence Report)
According to the report, botnets, networks of compromised computers controlled by cybercriminals, continue to be the primary source of these attacks, accounting for about 60% of DDoS traffic monitored by Nokia during the reporting period.
With this backdrop in mind, customers using stc’s range of business and consumer services will benefit from optimised performance and boosted security as a result of greater automation. For instance, network latency will be reduced by up to 600%.
“Service providers face increasingly demanding expectations from users for fast data throughput and available bandwidth, based on the huge potential of 5G. But the need for the most sophisticated, threat-aware security, capable of successfully identifying and mitigating a wide range of known and unknown threats across a broad range of apps, work flows and roles at line-speed, is equally important,” says Mike Spanbauer, Technology Evangelist at Juniper Networks.
“stc understands that intelligent automation is the key to delivering both, ensuring that its investment in a high-performance, experience-first network is not impeded by slow or ineffectual security.”
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