Communications Access Coordinator received 32 notifications from the nation’s telcos in the year to June 30.
Australia’s Communications Access Coordinator (CAC) is concerned by the level of understanding within the nation’s telcos about the risk that network virtualisation can introduce. The CAC role was created under Australia’s Telecommunications Sector Security Reforms (TSSR) and is charged with assessing whether changes made by telcos to their networks expose them to unauthorised access or interference, and if that is the case, it issues recommendations for changes. In the Telecommunications Sector Security Reforms — Report for 2019-20 tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, a number of Australian telcos notified the CAC that they were automating their network configurations. „These changes featured high levels of technical complexity and equally complex supply chains. In several instances the CAC had concerns about the notifying carrier’s understanding and appreciation of the risks presented by the proposed change, particularly the risks associated with complex multi-vendor/subcontractor, multi-jurisdiction supply chains,“ the report said. „The CAC also had concerns in several instances with carriers misunderstanding the level of exposure they had in proposing to outsource or ‚hybridise‘ their infrastructure environment. „In each of these instances during the reporting period the CAC informed the relevant carriers of the concerns and suggested measures that they could implement to ensure they could continue to comply with their security obligation while proceeding with the change.
