As an operator who is looking to protect its network, how can you know if the firewall vendor selected during your RFP process will in fact defend your network from all the vulnerabilities that it claims to protect against, until the firewall is actually deployed and it is too late to go back to another vendor?

One way would be to conduct a remote SS7 penetration test of each firewall on your RFP shortlist before making a final decision, but this could be costly.

This is why we have developed the industry’s first certification process for SS7 and Diameter firewalls. The Telecom Defense firewall certification is a process by which we test firewalls deployed on live mobile networks against Category 1, 2 and 3 SS7 vulnerabilities (as defined by GSMA FS.11) to verify that the firewall does in fact protect against all vulnerabilities. Firewalls that have passed the test receive the Telecom Defense firewall certification, and you may select a vendor holding the certification knowing that it will protect you as intended.

To find out which vendors have currently been certified, please look at our list of on-premises firewall vendors.