Data breaches can result in financial and reputational damage, and expose companies to liability under increasingly strict data protection legislation and regulations such as the EU’s GDPR or Popia in South Africa.

Hackers are increasingly sophisticated, and range from financially motivated collectives to state actors looking to cause strategic disruption. They will constantly probe a company’s defences, looking for weak points to exploit.

In late April 2025, for example, a well-known South African telecommunications operator experienced a data breach that exposed personal information relating to some of its customers.

Data transfers are an attractive target for hackers, and companies therefore need to ensure that their communications services and technology feature the same degree of built-in resilience as their data storage. As enterprises expand into new markets, they may be forced to rely on outdated telecoms infrastructure to reach geographically distributed locations. This can introduce vulnerabilities into their operational models.

Enhancing network resilience

The introduction of Twoobii’s Super Smart low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite service has been a gamechanger for companies in Southern Africa. Running on Eutelsat’s global OneWeb constellation, it offers advanced encryption and authentication capabilities in addition to LEO’s inherent advantages (high transmission speeds, low latency and always-on availability).

By using satellite communications as their primary or backup solution, companies can insulate themselves against the data security risks associated with terrestrial networks. Satellite solutions also overcome infrastructure constraints – Twoobii’s LEO communications can connect remote locations, no matter how challenging the terrain.

With built-in redundancy to ensure business continuation in the event of terrestrial service outages, Twoobii’s LEO solution is particularly applicable to mining, logistics and any enterprise which handles and disseminates large volumes of potentially sensitive data. Equally, Twoobii’s flexibility allows for the integration of remote sensors (connected through the internet of things), which can in turn enhance physical security at company premises.

Resilience is designed into Twoobii’s solutions thanks to their tight integration via the Twoobii-LEO point of presence in Teraco Isando. This allows for the bypassing of the internet via a high-security direct NNI (network to network integration) link to the client’s network. Twoobii’s clients can therefore extend their security policies and firewall to cover remote sites, further improving the security of their data flows.

Data protection

Varying standards of data protection can create opportunities for hackers, especially where remote or second-line facilities have not been issued with the latest updates to security software.

Remote installation of upgrades and patches can now be achieved in real time by taking advantage of the high download speeds and low latency offered by Twoobii’s LEO solution. By enhancing WAN and LAN security, Super Smart Satellite services from Twoobii can improve overall resilience against all forms of cyberattack.

Disaster response

Data losses and breaches are only one of the risks that enterprises need to manage. Physical destruction (through fire or flooding, for example) can be equally devastating. It’s vital, therefore, that communications solutions are able to support business continuity in the event of a localised or large-scale calamity.

The fact that Twoobii-LEO can be integrated into a wider network and has been engineered to collaborate with other line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight communications networks ensures reliable access to cloud computing and linked devices, as well as remote teams.

Myanmar relief efforts. Image: Eutelsat OneWeb

This makes Super Smart Satellite Services an ideal solution in disaster response scenarios, such as the March 2025 earthquake in Myanmar. With terrestrial communications degraded or destroyed, Eutelsat OneWeb user terminals were deployed to provide connectivity for coordinating emergency response teams and relief efforts.

Physical security

Just like data, a company’s physical assets and people also need to be protected. With Twoobii-LEO’s network, remote offices can be equipped with fast, low-latency connections that deliver similar performance to fibre networks. This can enable security monitoring based on remote sensors (including CCTV and weighbridges) that detect trends and anomalies, and can flag security risks or suspicious activities.

Twoobii-LEO allows for quick access to the relevant data – for example, to cloud-based biometric access control systems that highlight people’s locations in the event of an emergency, or to ANPR cameras that monitor and verify vehicles accessing remote, high-value locations where physical security may be harder to achieve.

Twoobii-LEO’s unique attributes – speed, minimal latency, security and resilience – make it a compelling proposition for mining enterprises, industrial plants and ports in Southern Africa looking to boost their business survivability in an increasingly complex risk landscape.