With most people being distracted during the holidays, online scammers are ready to pounce on consumers. According to Optimum, the most common online scams identified by Optimum’s cybersecurity team this season include phishing websites, smishing scams, non-delivery schemes, charity fraud and travel scams.

The company shared these insights in October during the worldwide Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Today, Optimum’s network blocks thousands of malicious attack attempts daily for our customers, ranging from phishing, smishing, spam, malware and other scams.

Optimum is in an interesting position to help consumers with battling online threats. Consider that over the last three years, the cable MSO has been transforming its business, which includes investing heavily in its network to expand service across its 21-state footprint. This year, the company has surpassed 3 million Fiber passings and has seen 50% fewer network outages.

In this episode, we talked to Ben Smith, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Optimum, about the top security threats consumers face and how to avoid potential traps.

Here is a timeline of the episode:

0:03 Opening

0:40 Optimum’s celebration of Cybersecurity Awareness Month How scam artists and hackers ramp up their attacks on consumers during the holiday season.

6:54 Scammers leveraging AI. Using AI to conduct phishing to spoof the look and feel of an email that might come directly from a company.

8:09 Optimum’s cybersecurity efforts The service provider is scaling its security controls, visibility and governance.

10:31 Bundling security with broadband Optimum is developing an advanced security offering that will allow consumers to manage their own Internet security.

12:09 Regulatory compliance and resilience. Optimum continues to hold operational testing of its cybersecurity operations.

14:09 Final thoughts/wrap up

About our guest Ben Smith serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Optimum, where he leads the company’s enterprise cybersecurity, governance, and IT risk management strategy. With over 20 years of experience across telecommunications, healthcare, and financial services, he has built and led security and IT risk management programs that align technology with organizational strategy, operational resilience, and regulatory requirements.

He serves on the Board of Directors of Hudson Valley Credit Union as Board Secretary and is a member of the Governance and Nominations Committee as well as the Finance Committee. In the past, he has served on multiple not-for-profit and community Boards and Advisory Committees.

A seasoned advisor to leading cybersecurity organizations, Ben leverages his executive and board experience to drive product strategy and market expansion within regulated industries. He holds both an MBA and a B.S. in Management Information Systems from Rochester Institute of Technology, along with CISSP and CHCIO certifications.

About the Podcast In the Lightwave Broadband Pulse podcast, we address the key issues affecting the optical and broadband industry segments. Join us every week for insights from industry leaders on these topics. Visit our website at www.lightwave.com and our podcast site at www.broadbandpulse.podbean.com.

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These providers are all using a mix of public and private funding for a host of new broadband build-outs across a diverse set of communities.

Lightwave is tracking service providers' ongoing efforts to extend broadband to more homes and businesses via our Building Broadband series.

If you want to share a new broadband build, contact Lightwave Editor in Chief Sean Buckley at sbuckley@endeavorb2b.com.

About the Podcast In the Lightwave Broadband Pulse podcast, we address the key issues affecting the optical and broadband industry segments. Join us every week for insights from industry leaders on these topics. Visit our website at www.lightwave.com and our podcast site at www.broadbandpulse.podbean.com.

In this special edition of the Broadband Pulse podcast, we're in Dallas, Texas, covering this year’s Mplify (formerly MEF) Global NaaS Event GNE 2025 show.

For this episode, we’re taking a look at the key highlights of the first day of the event:

• Mplify’s leadership transition
• Mplify Market Brief Positioning NaaS as Foundation for Agentic AI
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• Advancing Mplify's certification efforts in wireless through aligning with the GSMA
• Addressing standardized automation for enterprises

About the Podcast In the Lightwave Broadband Pulse podcast, we address the key issues affecting the optical and broadband industry segments. Join us every week for insights from industry leaders on these topics. Visit our website at www.lightwave.com and our podcast site at www.broadbandpulse.podbean.com.