How do you assess and improve IMS security posture and performance?

1 Identify IMS assets and risks

The first step is to identify your IMS assets and their associated risks. Assets include network elements, servers, gateways, databases, applications, and subscribers. Risks include threats, vulnerabilities, and impacts. You can use tools such as asset inventory, risk assessment, and threat modeling to map out your IMS environment and prioritize the most critical assets and risks.

2 Implement IMS security controls

The second step is to implement IMS security controls based on the best practices and standards for IMS and VoLTE. These security controls involve policies, procedures, technologies, and audits that are designed to prevent, detect, and respond to security incidents. For instance, mutual authentication and encryption for SIP signaling and media streams should be used between IMS network elements and subscribers. Additionally, firewall, IPS, and DDoS protection should be applied for IMS interfaces and servers. Access control, logging, and monitoring should be configured for IMS databases and applications. Security updates and patches must be enforced for IMS software and hardware. Finally, security audits and tests should be conducted for IMS components and functions.

3 Monitor IMS security performance

The third step is to monitor IMS security performance and measure its effectiveness. Security performance is the ability of IMS to provide secure and reliable services to subscribers and operators, which can be evaluated using tools such as KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), SLAs (Service Level Agreements), and QoS (Quality of Service) metrics. Examples of security performance indicators include availability and reliability of IMS services, latency and jitter of IMS voice and video calls, number and severity of security incidents, compliance with security standards, and customer satisfaction with IMS security.

4 Improve IMS security posture

To improve IMS security posture, you can use tools such as gap analysis, root cause analysis, and corrective actions to identify and address any weaknesses or gaps. Security improvement actions may include implementing additional or enhanced security controls, updating or revising security policies and procedures, training IMS staff and subscribers on security awareness and best practices, benchmarking IMS security performance against industry standards or peers, and continuously monitoring and improving IMS security posture and performance.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?