Vodafone picks Portugal for global cybersecurity centre

• The telco will manage its global cyber efforts from Lisbon
• Vodafone will recruit 40+ specialists to work with global cyber hubs
• CISO Emma Smith outlines Vodafone’s approach to cyber resilience

Vodafone Group has unveiled plans to launch a new Global Cyber Centre (GCC), which will be responsible for the operator’s network and operational security worldwide, in Lisbon, Portugal.

The GCC will initially employ 40 specialists who will work as part of a global team with existing hubs in the UK, Germany, Romania and India, the recruitment for which is already underway.

The team will be based at Vodafone Portugal’s headquarters and will bring together a broad set of capabilities, ranging from security strategy and architecture to incident prevention, detection and response. It will also be tasked with developing new security solutions, both in-house and from third parties, with a focus on emerging technologies including AI.

In addition to these areas, the GCC will include cyber security operations, incident response, demonstration activities, customer engagement and collaboration with different areas of the Vodafone Group, according to an announcement from the telco’s Portuguese arm.

The operator said it had picked the Portuguese city due to its role as a talent and innovation hub in cybersecurity. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) officially classifies Portugal as a Tier 1 ‘Role Model’ country in its Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), awarding it a near-perfect score of 99.86 out of 100.

Vodafone Portugal CEO Luis Lopes said: “The creation of the GCC in Lisbon confirms the strategic importance of the Portuguese market for Vodafone Group and recognises not only the specialist know-how developed in recent years in this area by the Portuguese operation but also the high quality of cyber security talent trained by the country’s universities. This is a highly significant step in placing Portugal and its talent on the global cyber security map, and in strengthening Vodafone’s position as an employer of choice.”

It comes as Vodafone Global CISO Emma Smith outlined why cyber resilience matters more than ever in a blog post published by the UK-based telecom group. In the blog, Smith warned that the world is “at a defining moment” as technology advances rapidly and the threat landscape evolves.

Outlining the risks faced by telecommunication providers, Smith said people and organisations rely so much on telco infrastructure that it makes “resilience much more than a technical concept but a business imperative and social priority”. Rather than viewing cyber security as a fixed state, organisations should focus on building the ability to anticipate, withstand, recover from and learn from cyber incidents.

In the blog, Smith also outlines Vodafone’s own approach, which combines globally aligned cyber security operations, such as the one announced in Portugal, with local expertise across Europe and Africa to improve threat visibility and response.

Smith concludes: “For leaders, the priority is clear: Focus on outcomes, maintaining customer trust and embedding cyber resilience into how the business operates. In a fast-moving world, trust is built not only by preventing disruption where we can but by being ready to respond effectively when it matters most. That is how we create a more secure and resilient connected future for everyone.”

- James Pearce, Editor, TelecomTV