COUNTRY FOCUS: TURKEY
With airports being a potential
goldmine for hackers, securing
beyond physical threats at
an airport is vital. As Istanbul
Grand Airport aims to become
the largest in the world,
cybersecurity has always been
a priority in its blueprint, and
it turned to Cisco for a full
security integrated architecture.
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Istanbul Grand Airport is
on a mission to improve its
cybersecurity and turned
to Cisco
W
hen you think of security within
an airport, what’s the first thing
that comes to mind? It is most
likely security check points. These security
measures are absolutely crucial when it
comes to the safety of all customers and
workers within the airport.
However, these security standards are only
protection against physical threats. What
about cyberthreats? With advancements in
technology, threats have evolved beyond
physicality. Cyberthreats at an airport are
particularly detrimental.
Think about it: airports are goldmines for
hackers. Not only do they store airline data
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INTELLIGENTCIO
from major carriers such as Turkish Airlines,
United or Lufthansa, the airport network also
contains business data from restaurants and
shops. More importantly, it carries millions
of customers’ data. Whether passengers are
purchasing an item at a store, going through
airport security, or connecting to the free
airport Wi-Fi; data is essentially everywhere.
Therefore, securing beyond physical threats
at an airport is extremely critical.
Becoming the largest airport in
the world
Istanbul Grand Airport (IGA) was founded
in 2013 and is on a mission to construct
the largest airport in the world. IGA recently
completed and launched the first phase of
the airport, which encompasses two runways
and can accommodate 90 million passengers.
Once fully complete, IGA intends to hire
approximately 1.5 million employees and
will have the ability to connect up to 200
million passengers in over 300 destinations,
annually. The airport is currently being
constructed in an area of 76.5 million square
metres, north of Istanbul, which is Turkey’s
largest city and Europe’s fourth most
populated city; currently with 15 million
residents and 7 million foreign visitors a year.
Because Turkey sits geographically at the
centre of four critical regions – Asia, Africa,
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