Supporting NIST Compliance and Security Excellence with VMware Telco Cloud Platform

Communication Service Providers (CSPs) are confronted with the imperative of large-scale network modernization and stringent regulatory and compliance framework simultaneously. In such scenarios, security and data privacy requirements become fundamental for business continuity, customer trust, and maintaining a competitive market position. CSPs must integrate robust compliance mechanisms and advanced security protocols into their transformation strategies for the networks.

To assist CSPs in that journey, we announce the release of VMware Telco Cloud Platform Product Applicability Guide (PAG) for NIST 800-53 Revision 5. The document is the result of a thorough evaluation by Tevora, an independent third-party IT audit firm. Tevora mapped VMware product capabilities to NIST 800-53 controls and provided an unbiased perspective, through discussions with Broadcom product teams. It serves as an essential resource for CSPs, as they transition towards 5G standalone and beyond. It helps CSPs align their telco cloud deployments with the established security and privacy controls. This guide streamlines the compliance process, providing a clear roadmap for implementing robust security measures across the Telco Cloud Platform.

Why is this Guide Essential for Telcos?

This PAG is a blueprint demonstrating how VMware Telco Cloud Platform can serve as a compliance-capable foundation for your networks.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll find inside:

• A Proven Framework: The guide details how the capabilities of Telco Cloud Platform aligns to the controls defined in NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-53 Rev. 5. This approach embeds “security by design” into your infrastructure.
• Comprehensive Control Mapping: The NIST 800-53 standard covers 20 control families. This guide provides an in-depth mapping for 17 control families that have direct overlap with Telco Cloud capabilities. This includes critical areas like Access Control (AC), Audit and Accountability (AU), and System and Communications Protection (SC).
• Product-Specific Insights: The document breaks down how specific products within the Telco Cloud Infrastructure Tier of Telco Cloud Platform support compliance. Key products covered include:
  • VMware vSphere®, vSAN™, and NSX®
  • VMware Telco Cloud Automation
  • Tanzu Kubernetes Grid
• Risk Management: It emphasizes the Three-Tiered Risk Management approach to help CSPs determine the security controls based on organizational and information system risk.

For CSPs evaluating system security and operational innovation, this Product Applicability Guide provides crucial information for implementing a robust telco cloud security control program, accelerating time-to-market for new services, ensuring regulatory compliance, and building customer trust through verifiable security.