Telefónica to build security centre in Mexico for BBVA

The new facility in Mexico will function as a mirror of BBVA's existing Global Cybersecurity Centre in Spain, we’re told, and the combination of the two will ‘provide comprehensive and uninterrupted coverage for the entire Group.’

The new centre will be operational in July, and the two hubs will be staffed by around 200 Telefónica Tech cybersecurity bods working alongside BBVA, which it says will constitute one of the largest cybersecurity centres in the financial industry.

The new services will include AI and process automation tools, and Telefónica Tech says it has almost 50 tricks up its sleeve designed to provide a ‘holistic security response’ to the bank’s various operational and business divisions, including solutions for the proactive anticipation of threats, definition of operational tactics, strategies to strengthen resilience, and protection for Data Processing Centres.

‘These two hubs specialising in cybersecurity are unique in the financial industry and represent a new step towards protecting our infrastructures with the latest technological advances,” said Sergio Fidalgo, BBVA's Global CISO. “Our goal is to be a bank that is increasingly secure and prepared to respond to all types of attacks and to offer the best service to our customers with the best security guarantees in the market”.

María Jesús Almazor, COO of Telefónica Tech for Spain and the Americas added: “It is a pleasure to accompany BBVA in this process of global security with our technological capabilities and the talent of our professionals, who are backed by a global network of more than 1,500 experts in cybersecurity operations and more than ten security operations centres (SOCs) across Europe and the Americas to monitor and oversee the security of organisations 24x7.”

According to a ton of reports, cyber attacks of various types have been on the rise for a while now, and Telefonica Tech seems to be leaning into the security provider role. Earlier this year, it’s UK and Ireland division began offering its NextDefense portfolio of Managed Security Services (MSS) for enterprises in the region, which the firm says uses ‘advanced data sources’, big data and machine learning to predict and protect against emerging threats.