Chief Security Officer Zhong Hong Elaborates on ZTE’s Security Measures

October 11 13:06 2023

In 2019, ZTE’s Chief Security Officer, Zhong Hong, made the corporation’s white paper public, documenting its road map to reinforcing security and implementing more robust measures. Five years on, The company’s stance remains the same, and ZTE security has become essential in the telecommunication sector.

In a world where cyber security is quickly becoming increasingly threatened and confidence tapering, now’s a time as good as any to confide in ZTE’s security assurance to its customers. Let’s delve into the ZTE CSO’s elaboration of how the corporation approaches security to protect itself and its customers.

ZTE’s Security Philosophy

China’s cyber technology has advanced, as the world has witnessed a massive paradigm shift in how cyber security companies operate. These landmark changes have vastly reassured security in the telecommunication sector and in the age of 5G, much more or less of what ZTE has always emphasized in its practices. While 5G technology has tagged along with numerous upsides, including lower latency and increased bandwidth, it’s also predisposed the telecommunication sector to more potentially compromising security risks.

In 2020, ZTE Corporation affirmed, on their official Twitter handle (Now X), that the company aims to build secure and trustworthy 5G networks with customers. ZTE security emphasizes its policy, “security in DNA, trust through transparency, and deeply ingrains security in every aspect of its operations. That reflects a fundamental commitment to safeguarding sensitive information and ensuring the integrity of its products and services through more open and transparent approaches.

Transparency plays a pivotal role in ZTE’s security philosophy. The company is dedicated to transparent, open, and honest communication about its security practices. That includes disclosing relevant information about its technologies, processes, and compliance measures. By doing so, ZTE aims to foster trust with its stakeholders, including customers, partners, and regulatory bodies.

Still, ZTE’s commitment to security extends beyond mere compliance with industry standards. It involves a proactive approach to identifying and addressing potential threats and vulnerabilities. The company invests in robust research and development efforts to stay at the forefront of security technologies, ensuring its products can withstand evolving cyber threats.

Governance and Regulation

ZTE’s cybersecurity governance architecture is robust and includes a comprehensive framework that effectively manages and mitigates cybersecurity risks. Unique to the organization, this framework encompasses a policy framework that outlines the responsibilities and expectations for employees and all its partners. That ensures complete compliance with industry best practices and all regulatory requirements. 

These policies, unique to the corporation, span from information security, acceptable use, access control and data protection and privacy. Moreover, they cover password and authentication and vendor and third-party security, ensuring compliance with every international cybersecurity policy.

ZTE security also has a traceable organizational structure that ensures adequate governance and compliance with international cybersecurity requirements. Moreover, its risk management process prioritizes cybersecurity risk identification, assessment and prioritization. The corporation also has an in-house team that collaborates with its stakeholders to continuously monitor networks and systems with their robust threat intelligence.

One aspect that sets ZTE security apart from its industry competitors is that it offers security education and awareness. That’s vital in continuously developing security systems and being in the loop with emerging threats, tackling them as soon as they appear. This practice ensures that its employees understand their role in maintaining a secure environment for the company and its customers.

Product and Service Security

ZTE incorporates robust integration right from the start of every project. Moreover, they ensure continuous improvement and development throughout their product lifecycle. Through its stakeholders, the company adopts a security-by-design approach, ensuring that security features are part of every ZTE product. Moreover, the company conducts rigorous threat modeling and risk assessment during the early stages of every product development. That guarantees the implementation of appropriate security measures. 

Throughout its products’ development, ZTE ensures it follows secure coding practices to help minimize possible vulnerabilities through code review adherence and static code analysis. Its developers also incorporate security checkpoints using a secure software development cycle (SDLC). This fundamental practice helps affirm the addressing of security at every phase, from design to testing and deployment. 

But that’s hardly everything. This company still conducts other testing procedures like penetration tests and vulnerability scanning, ensuring they identify potential weaknesses before rectifying them. That ensures robustness in security and well-rounded protection.

Other security aspects that ZTE employs throughout its product cycle include regular software and firmware updates and patch management. It also helps customers and users maintain a more secure environment through security documentation for its products and services, including providing security guides and configuration manuals.

Incident Management and Response

ZTE maintains a robust and proactive approach to incident management and response, prioritizing swift and effective resolution. Advanced monitoring systems help promptly detect and identify potential security incidents, allowing immediate action. Once identified, the corporation classifies incidents based on severity and potential impact, enabling it to allocate resources and responses accordingly.

The company swiftly implements containment and mitigation measures to prevent further harm, including isolating affected systems and blocking unauthorized access. Thorough forensic analysis determines the root cause and extent of the incident, providing crucial insights for prevention in the future. ZTE diligently documents all aspects of the incident, using this information to refine incident response procedures and enhance security measures.

Following containment, the company focuses on post-incident recovery and remediation, working to restore affected systems, validate their integrity, and implement additional security measures to prevent recurrence. Through these comprehensive protocols, ZTE demonstrates a steadfast commitment to managing security incidents with precision and efficiency, ultimately safeguarding the trust and confidence of its stakeholders.

Consumer Trust and Privacy

ZTE upholds a steadfast commitment to safeguarding consumer trust and privacy. The company implements stringent measures to ensure the integrity and protection of user data throughout its products and services.

The company adheres to internationally recognized privacy standards and complies with relevant data protection regulations. It also employs robust encryption techniques to secure data in transit and at rest, safeguarding it from unauthorized access. Its privacy policies are also transparent to users, outlining how their information the company collects, uses, and stores it.

ZTE also gives users granular control over their privacy settings, allowing them to customize their preferences. Furthermore, the company invests in ongoing education and awareness initiatives to inform users about best practices for maintaining their privacy. By prioritizing consumer trust and privacy, ZTE establishes a foundation of confidence, ensuring that users can rely on their products and services with the assurance that they handle their personal information with the utmost care and security.

ZTE prioritizes transparency, reliability, and robust security measures, safeguarding both the company and consumers. With a commitment to privacy protection and a proactive approach to incident management, ZTE establishes trust and confidence in its products and services.

Media Contact
Company Name: ZTE Corporation
Contact Person: Lunitta LU
Email: Send Email
Country: China
Website: https://www.zte.com.cn/global/