CenturyLink awarded new DHS EINSTEIN 3 Accelerated task order

Company to provide cybersecurity services to government agencies

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Dec 08, 2014, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) recently was awarded a task order from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Cybersecurity and Communications to provide Intrusion Prevention Security Services, known as EINSTEIN 3 Accelerated (E³A) protections, to U.S. federal civilian agencies.

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The one-year task order was issued under a four-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for EINSTEIN cybersecurity services that was previously awarded to CenturyLink in March 2013. DHS's EINSTEIN program uses network traffic patterns indicating known or suspected malicious cyber activity to help participating federal agencies protect their IT systems.

The new task order includes additional managed security services and cybersecurity capabilities that will be integrated into the current CenturyLink E³A service, which is the first E³A intrusion prevention capability to achieve initial operating capability from DHS. The CenturyLink E³A service is also the first fully operational E³A system that is actively providing cybersecurity services to federal civilian agencies' end-users.

The EINSTEIN program provides advanced email filtering and web Domain Name System spoofing protections, as well as signature-based intrusion detection, prevention and mitigation services to participating federal agencies under the guidance and oversight of DHS.

EINSTEIN capabilities are provided through a combination of commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software, government-developed software, and commercially available managed security services that are enhanced by DHS-provided information.

By supplying E³A cybersecurity services over its carrier-class network, CenturyLink is able to provide federal government agencies with the information security and reliability they need to carry out their missions.

"CenturyLink is proud to be selected to continue providing EINSTEIN cybersecurity protections to federal agencies," said Lisa Bruch, CenturyLink Government acting senior vice president and general manager. "We're excited to support DHS's mission to provide federal agencies with advanced managed cybersecurity capabilities that offer additional protections to mitigate growing and evolving threats. The ability to share valuable cyber intelligence and information with an expanding list of federal agencies supports active awareness of immediate cyber threats and helps us protect and defend our nation's federal IT systems."

Bruch recognized Wray Varley, CenturyLink Government area vice president for advanced programs, and John Cassidy, CenturyLink Government branch director for the cybersecurity division, for their work on this program, and explained that the recent E³A task order award highlights a valuable partnership between CenturyLink Government and DHS. "We continue to work together to develop innovative managed cybersecurity services that are scalable and repeatable, and can be implemented quickly and efficiently by many federal civilian departments and agencies," she said.

CenturyLink is also a fully approved commercial services provider for the DHS Enhanced Cybersecurity Services (ECS) program, which helps government-approved critical infrastructure entities protect their IT systems from unauthorized access, exploitation and data exfiltration.

CenturyLink is ranked No. 42 on Washington Technology's 2014 Top 100 list of federal government IT contractors.

About CenturyLink
CenturyLink is the third largest telecommunications company in the United States and is recognized as a leader in the network services market by technology industry analyst firms. The company is a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprise customers. CenturyLink provides data, voice and managed services in local, national and select international markets through its high-quality advanced fiber optic network and multiple data centers for businesses and consumers. The company also offers advanced entertainment services under the CenturyLink® Prism™ TV and DIRECTV brands. Headquartered in Monroe, La., CenturyLink is an S&P 500 company and is included among the Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations. For more information, visit www.centurylink.com.

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