Focus on Big Data Expo: "B&R" Digital Silk Road needs network escort

On May 26, Big Data Expo 2017 opened in Guiyang. The 360 Threat Intelligence Center released the Enterprise Security Research Report of "Belt and Road Initiative" ("Report"). This is the first special report on the network security and informatization construction of central enterprises involved in the implementation of "Belt and Road" Initiative. The report specifies network security challenges faced by central enterprises in the implementation of "Belt and Road" Initiative, and calls on relevant state departments to release policies encouraging network security enterprises to go global under the "Belt and Road" initiative to escort central enterprises, thereby advancing development and security synchronously, and defending the 21st Century Digital Silk Road.

With the further implementation of "Belt and Road" Initiative, Chinese central enterprises have gradually increased IT investment and applied more means of information management during local engineering construction and business operations, thus exposing more information systems and data on the open internet. With the constant expansion of exposure, original network security measures will face new challenges.

Central enterprises are forerunners in the implemenation of "Belt and Road" Initiative. Their network information systems contain business secrets or perhaps national secrets. For example, some geographical location data and marine exploration data contained in some port, terminal and hydraulic engineering projects at borders are national confidential data. These secrets have always been attack targets of foreign APT organizations.

To central enterprises involved in the implemenation of "Belt and Road" Initiative, the informatization construction of overseas projects and business is the inherent requirement of improving the overall operation efficiency of overseas projects and strengthening internal refined management, as well as the rigid demand of protecting important data security.

The report calls on Chinese central enterprises going global to strengthen overall planning, take precautions, include network security construction into their "Belt and Road" Initiative, advance development and security simultaneously, make good preparations in psychology, strategies and technical staff, attach great importance to network attacks, information leakage and other risks, work out security strategies specific to overseas business scenarios and features, establish relevant security codes, mechanisms and standards, conduct overall monitoring of security situation, reduce security blind areas to the minimum, and reduce internal and external security risks. The report suggests that relevant state administrative and supervisory departments should release policies encouraging network security enterprises to go global under the "Belt and Road" initiative to escort central enterprises, organize highly motivated central enterprises, as well as willing and competitive security vendors, to establish a mechanism of overseas security information sharing.