E-Sim From Cloudfare Will Help to Secure Mobile Devices

September 29, 2022 By Fakun Gram

(Image Credit Google)

Is it possible for smartphones to be completely secure? It all depends on how one defines "secure," especially when dealing with corporate environments. Most businesses with BYOD policies install apps or agents on employees' smartphones to help secure them, leveraging management capabilities built into operating systems such as Android and iOS. However, these may not be sufficient. At least, that's what Cloudflare claims in its pitch for the new services it's launching this week. Zero Trust SIM and Zero Trust for Mobile Operators, two product offerings aimed at smartphone users, companies securing corporate phones, and carriers selling data services, were announced today by the company. Cloudflare e-sim

Let us begin with Zero Trust SIM. Zero Trust SIM, which is designed to secure all data packets leaving a smartphone, will be available as an eSIM deployable via existing mobile device management platforms to both iOS and Android devices once it is launched in the United States. It will be device-locked, reducing the risk of SIM-swapping attacks, and will be used either standalone or in conjunction with Cloudflare's mobile agent, WARP. In a recent email interview, Cloudflare CTO John Graham-Cumming argued that Zero Trust SIM can achieve what VPNs and other security layers cannot: cell-level protection. He argued that a SIM card can serve as an additional security factor and, when combined with hardware keys, make it nearly impossible to impersonate an employee. A VPN layer is elements that do not eliminate the need to still deploy cellular connectivity across all of your mobile devices today, and traditional 'AnyConnect-style' VPNs do nothing to prevent attackers from moving laterally once inside the VPN," Graham-Cumming explained. Graham-Cumming specifically stated that Zero Trust SIM will allow Cloudflare to rewrite DNS requests, allowing a device to instead use Cloudflare Gateway for DNS filtering. Cloudflare e-sim

While pricing has not been determined, Zero Trust SIM, which will be available in the coming months, will be billed as part of Cloudflare's Zero Trust platform — Graham-Cumming says it will be an extension of the per-seat pricing Zero Trust customers currently have. He anticipates that most devices will be compatible and that the number will grow even more once Cloudflare begins providing physical SIM cards for the service, which it plans to do soon. "We intend to begin in the United States, but quickly expand to make this a global service — running a global network is a core part of what we do," Graham-Cumming said. "While we're still in the early stages of development here, we're already working on a parallel initiative in the industrial internet of things (IoT) space" (e.g., vehicles, payment terminals, shipping containers, vending machines). The Zero Trust SIM is a basic piece of technology that enables a slew of new applications." On the topic of IoT, Cloudflare today previewed IoT Platform, a platform for IoT devices that aims to provide a single-pane-of-glass view over a fleet of connected devices. Designed to compete with Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google IoT management services. Cloudflare e-sim

According to Cloudflare, every packet that leaves an IoT device can be inspected, approved, or rejected by policies that customers create before it reaches the Internet, cloud, or other devices. Furthermore, devices can be geolocated to ensure that sensitive traffic does not reach public channels. Cloudflare says more information will be available in the coming months as the official launch of the IoT Platform approaches. Cloudflare had less to say about Zero Trust for Mobile Operators. Graham-Cumming explained that a carrier partner program called Zero Trust for Mobile Operators will allow service providers to offer subscriptions to mobile security tools from Cloudflare's Zero Trust platform. Interested operators can sign up for more information starting today. Cloudflare e-sim

Zero Trust for Mobile Operators, or even the new Zero Trust SIM, could become Cloudflare's more profitable business line beyond WARP, which the company launched three years ago with a freemium model. It is considered to be a pilot in some fields. According to Allied Market Research, the global mobile security market will be valued at US$3.3 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach US$22.1 billion by 2030. Given the tough conditions in the IoT market, an IoT platform also makes sense for Cloudflare. According to one source, IoT spending in companies is expected to grow 22.4% to $158 billion in 2021 as tailwinds such as supply chain challenges pick up. The market is crowded with established companies, but Cloudflare seems to think it can carry enough weight to make a noticeable dent.

By Fakun Gram

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