In the new digital world empowered by 5G, cloud, and AI, a secure and stable cyberspace is critical to businesses and societies. Cybersecurity and privacy protection are inherent requirements in a digital world, protecting people’s livelihoods and many vital economic functions.

We live in a highly interconnected world, where the physical and digital realms are converging and network boundaries are increasingly blurred. Cybersecurity and privacy protection are ever more important. Governments around the world are paying greater attention to cybersecurity and privacy protection, and have adopted laws and regulations to strengthen the governance of cyberspace and protect personal data. With the rising role and importance of data in all parts of our lives, data protection and compliant data use are becoming a basic requirement.

As digital transformation accelerates across industries, the application of new technologies - such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, and big data – it brings with it opportunities, but also challenges. Cyber resilience improvement is an ongoing task. This process presents both challenges and opportunities. We need to consider how to meet the increasingly strict compliance requirements of regulators, and how to provide secure and trustworthy products and services that fulfill our commitments to customers. We also need to embrace a defense-in-depth approach to provide better security, ensure business continuity, and improve efficiency and customer experience while all the time protecting user privacy.

In the intelligent era, network connectivity is no longer a luxury. Rather, it's a necessity that's central to both our working and personal lives. But with pervasive connectivity — allied to the development of cloud technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) — network borders are disappearing, significantly increasing network risks. Enterprises must therefore be prepared, to avoid the potential threat of huge losses caused by network security issues.

The digital era is bringing forth huge demands in data transmission, storage, computation, comprehensive application, and more. And cutting-edge technologies such as 5G and cloud are twin pillars to support digital transformation. In particular, 5G has been recognized as a cornerstone for the proliferation of big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as being the enabler for the adoption of other cutting-edge technologies, including Internet of Things (IoT), Fintech, autonomous vehicles, and drones.

ICT products are the result of a global supply chain. A single piece of equipment typically includes components sourced from all over the world. To deal with threats effectively, we need global standards and internationally agreed processes and best practices. On the other hand, cybersecurity and privacy are a common challenge, one that all stakeholders – including governments, industry and standards organizations, enterprises, technology suppliers, and consumers – have a shared responsibility to confront.

As such, committed to adopting open and verifiable security standards such as GSMA NESAS /3GPP SCAS for 5G Security, GSMA 5G Security Knowledge Base and OIC-CERT 5G Security Framework is a cornerstone to embracing the challenges we faced in cybersecurity through global standards and best practices and collaborating with all the stakeholders in the cybersecurity supply chain to ensure trustworthiness and resiliency.

It is the responsibility of all vendors to reiterate their commitment to communicating and collaborating with all stakeholders in an open, transparent, and responsible manner so that we can jointly improve cybersecurity and privacy capabilities and address the challenges through technological innovation, knowledge sharing, standards development, verification, and other measures. At Huawei, we strive to continually improve cybersecurity and personal privacy, enabling everyone to enjoy all of the benefits brought by technological advances.

At Huawei, we have in-depth experience collaborating with our customers on advanced tech and industry 4.0 solutions, including 5G, Cloud, AI, and IoT for major industry verticals. Our expertise and solutions are developed and delivered by observing security-by-design and privacy-by-design principles that will allow our customers to safeguard their digital future.

We continue to place cybersecurity and privacy protection as a top priority. We are committed to confronting cybersecurity and privacy challenges and opportunities through management transformation, technological innovation, and open collaboration. We want to foster a better life for all in the future digital world by offering secure and trustworthy products, solutions, and services where personal data is lawfully used and always protected.

Building and implementing an end-to-end global cybersecurity and privacy protection assurance system is one of Huawei's key strategies. In compliance with applicable laws and regulations in countries where it operates and international standards, Huawei has been creating an effective, sustainable, and reliable cybersecurity and privacy protection assurance system by referring to the requirements of regulators and customers, as well as industry best practices. Additionally, Huawei actively works with governments, customers, and industry partners to address cybersecurity and privacy challenges thereby reinforcing the need to treat cybersecurity as a team sport and maintaining an open and collaborative environment that encourages innovation and transparency that will see cybersecurity being viewed as the key not only to protect our digital assets but leveraging it to support business.

Hence, innovative businesses shall no longer consider cybersecurity a cost center, but rather a business enabler. It is one that can support corporate agility and strengthen the trust of their stakeholders. A provable and robust security posture will undoubtedly help one’s reputation in the market, attract new customers, and improve customer loyalty.

Cybersecurity is important for a modern-day society. It is absolutely vital in a world where the sophistication of cybercriminals and their relentless attacks are unparalleled. It is a complex challenge. Working together is essential, and security is to be addressed from a technological point of view in an open and collaborative manner encouraging innovation and transparency, bringing everyone in the eco-system together as one.