Global Crossing Expands Global Portfolio of Security Solutions for Enterprises

Company Integrates Capabilities of Security Leaders HP ArcSight and Fortinet

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May 17, 2011, 09:00 ET

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., May 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Crossing (NASDAQ: GLBC), a leading global IP solutions provider, today announced Global Crossing Security Solutions, an enhanced portfolio of security capabilities that allow customers to more easily and thoroughly protect, manage and monitor enterprise networks.

The new suite of security features includes a firewall, intrusion prevention service, web content filtering, and antivirus and anti-spam capabilities, and provides reporting and analysis via Global Crossing's award-winning uCommand(TM) customer portal. The company is using a new Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform, which generates the reports and posts them to the customer portal. The SIEM platform resides in the Global Crossing Security Operations Center (SOC), where security professionals, analysts and engineers monitor and assess customers' network security. Located in Phoenix, Ariz., the global SOC provides around-the-clock personal response to the security events of customers around the world.

Global Crossing customers also now have access to a full array of professional services from Global Crossing Security Consulting. These consulting services provide security assessments and audits, penetration testing, and vulnerability evaluations. Global Crossing professionals also review and create security policies and provide on-site incident response services.

"As multinational enterprises face an ever-increasing number of security threats to their networks, Global Crossing recognizes the need to address – in a holistic manner – the entire spectrum of these potentially revenue-impacting attacks," said Dave Carey, Global Crossing's chief marketing officer. "Global Crossing Security Solutions cost-effectively extends our customers' limited IT and security resources, and lets them concentrate on their core business while we keep their networks hardened and secure."

According to independent research firm Forrester Research, the estimated size of the global managed security services market is about $4.5 billion, which includes outsourced and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security services, as well as annualized security operations.(1)

Global Crossing Security Solutions draws on the expertise and industry leadership of two well-known security industry players: ArcSight, an HP company, and Fortinet.

The company is using the ArcSight Enterprise Threat and Risk Management platform to provide complete visibility across a customer's IT infrastructure in order to proactively monitor and manage business risk. The ArcSight platform includes the industry's leading SIEM products for collecting, analyzing and assessing security and risk event information, and will provide external reporting to Global Crossing customers via the company's self-service portal, uCommand. Gartner Inc. has positioned ArcSight in the Leaders quadrant of the analyst firm's 2010 report, "Magic Quadrant for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)."(2) Gartner examined 20 vendors for this report. Nine are point-solution vendors and 11 are vendors that sell additional security or operations products and services that offer wired or wireless service, or both.

FortiGate® appliances, developed by Fortinet, are deployed at customer locations and enhance Global Crossing's ability to provide a fully managed solution. Specifically, for the Global Crossing solution, the appliances provide firewall, intrusion protection, application control, web content filtering, and antivirus and anti-spam capabilities. The appliances send logs of events on those activities to the ArcSight platform for analysis by security operations center staff. Gartner Inc. has positioned Fortinet in the Leaders quadrant of the analyst firm's report, "Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management."(3) Gartner examined 13 companies that provide network security, web security and email security software and/or hardware products.

Global Crossing's "Culture of Security," derived from its Network Security Agreement with the United States government, plays heavily into its ability to differentiate itself from its competitors. This comprehensive, landmark agreement covers the areas of physical, logical, information, and personnel security, and sets the bar higher for network security in the telecommunications industry in several unique and important ways that benefit Global Crossing's customers. Similarly, the Global Crossing IP VPN for the UK Government has been evaluated to Evaluation Assurance Level 2. This process provides independent and impartial testing, proving network security as well as confidence and trust to subscribers.

Global Crossing's uCommand self-service portal is an integral component of the company's customer experience initiative and a crucial resource that supports the company's longstanding commitment to customer satisfaction. It gives customers access to network management capabilities and services, and real-time performance monitoring. Customers can manage network alarms and interact with service delivery and assurance teams through a customized, interactive map. The map gives customers circuit-by-circuit, location-specific detail and allows them to drill down on network locations to get more information, such as status of pending orders or trouble tickets, or planned maintenance activities undertaken by Global Crossing.

(1) The Forrester Wave™: Managed Security Services, Q3 2010. Forrester Research, Inc., August 10, 2010.

(2) Gartner. Inc., "2010 Magic Quadrant for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)" by Mark Nicolett and Kelly Kavanagh, May 13, 2010.

(3) Gartner, Inc., "Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management" by John Pescatore and Bob Walder, Oct. 22, 2010.

About The Magic Quadrant

The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2010 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

ABOUT GLOBAL CROSSING

Global Crossing (NASDAQ: GLBC) is a leading global IP, Ethernet, data center and video solutions provider with the world's first integrated global IP-based network. The company offers a full range of data, voice, collaboration, broadcast and media services delivered with superior customer service.

Global Crossing provides services to enterprises (including approximately 40 percent of the Fortune 500); government departments and agencies; and 700 carriers, mobile operators and ISPs. It delivers converged IP services to more than 700 cities in more than 70 countries, and has 17 world-class data centers in major business centers around the globe.

Please visit www.globalcrossing.com for more information about Global Crossing.

Website Access to Company Information

Global Crossing maintains a corporate website at www.globalcrossing.com, and you can find additional information about the company through the Investors pages on that website at http://investors.globalcrossing.com. Global Crossing utilizes its website as a channel of distribution of important information about the company. Global Crossing routinely posts financial and other important information regarding the company and its business, financial condition and operations on the Investors web pages.

Visitors to the Investors web pages can view and print copies of Global Crossing's SEC filings, including periodic and current reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, and in respect of GCUK's Forms 20-F and 6-K, as soon as reasonably practicable after those filings are made with the SEC. Copies of the charters for each of the standing committees of Global Crossing's Board of Directors, its Corporate Governance Guidelines, Ethics Policy, press releases and analysts presentations are all available through the Investors web pages.

Please note that the information contained on any of Global Crossing's websites is not incorporated by reference in, or considered to be a part of, any document unless expressly incorporated by reference therein.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS

This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. The proposed amalgamation between Level 3, Inc. ("Level 3") and Global Crossing Limited ("Global Crossing") announced on April 11, 2011 will be submitted to the stockholders of Level 3 and the stockholders of Global Crossing for their consideration. Level 3 and Global Crossing will file a registration statement on Form S-4, a joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents concerning the proposed transaction with the SEC. Level 3 and Global Crossing will each provide the final joint proxy statement/prospectus to its respective stockholders. Investors and security holders are urged to read the registration statement and the joint proxy statement/prospectus and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC when they become available, as well as any amendments or supplements to those documents, because they will contain important information about Level 3, Global Crossing and the proposed transaction. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain a free copy of the registration statement and joint proxy statement/prospectus, as well as other filings containing information about Level 3 and Global Crossing free of charge at the SEC's Web Site at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, the joint proxy statement/prospectus, the SEC filings that will be incorporated by reference in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and the other documents filed with the SEC by Level 3 may be obtained free of charge by directing such request to: Investor Relations, Level 3, Inc., 1025 Eldorado Boulevard, Broomfield, Colorado 80021 or from Level 3's Investor Relations page on its corporate website at http://www.level3.com/ and the joint proxy statement/prospectus, the SEC filings that will be incorporated by reference in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and the other documents filed with the SEC by Global Crossing be obtained free of charge by directing such request to: Global Crossing by telephone at (800) 836-0342 or by submitting a request by e-mail to [email protected] or a written request to the Secretary, Wessex House, 45 Reid Street, Hamilton HM12 Bermuda or from Global Crossing's Investor Relations page on its corporate website at http://www.globalcrossing.com.

Level 3, Global Crossing and their respective directors, executive officers, and certain other members of management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in favor of the proposed transactions from the stockholders of Level 3 and from the stockholders of Global Crossing, respectively. Information about the directors and executive officers of Level 3 is set forth in the proxy statement on Schedule 14A for Level 3's 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 4, 2011 and information about the directors and executive officers of Global Crossing is set forth in the proxy statement for Global Crossing's 2011 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 29, 2011. Additional information regarding participants in the proxy solicitation may be obtained by reading the joint proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction when it becomes available.

This press release contains statements about expected future events and financial results that are forward looking and subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially, including: the failure to occur of any condition to the closing of the acquisition of Global Crossing by Level 3 and uncertainties as to the timing of the closing; the failure to achieve or any delay in achieving expected synergies and other financial benefits from the acquisition; changes in Global Crossing's risk profile resulting from the acquisition; limitations on Global Crossing's financial and operational flexibility that arise under the covenants in the amalgamation agreement that could restrict it from taking advantage of opportunities to strategically enhance its business or improve its capital structure; delays or reductions in purchases from Global Crossing by customers because of their perceived uncertainty about its ability to meet their needs after closing of the acquisition; disruptions in Global Crossing's business due to current and prospective employees experiencing uncertainty about their future roles with the company and the diversion of their time and attention from ongoing business operations; Global Crossing's history of substantial operating losses and the fact that, in the near term, funds from operations will not satisfy cash requirements; the availability of future borrowings in an amount sufficient to pay Global Crossing's indebtedness and to fund its other liquidity needs; legal and contractual restrictions on the inter-company transfer of funds by Global Crossing's subsidiaries; Global Crossing's ability to continue to connect its network to incumbent carriers' networks or maintain Internet peering arrangements on favorable terms; the consequences of any inadvertent violation of Global Crossing's Network Security Agreement with the U.S. Government; increased competition and pricing pressures resulting from technology advances and regulatory changes; competitive disadvantages relative to competitors with superior resources; political, legal and other risks due to Global Crossing's substantial international operations; risks associated with movements in foreign currency exchange rates; risks related to restrictions on the conversion of the Venezuelan bolivar into U.S. dollars and to the resultant buildup of a material excess bolivar cash balance, which is carried on Global Crossing's books at the official exchange rate, attributing to the bolivar a value that is significantly greater than the value that would prevail on an open market; potential weaknesses in internal controls of acquired businesses, and difficulties in integrating internal controls of those businesses with Global Crossing's own internal controls; exposure to contingent liabilities; and other risks referenced from time to time in Global Crossing's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Global Crossing undertakes no duty to update information contained in this press release or in other public disclosures at any time.

CONTACT GLOBAL CROSSING:
Press Contacts
Kate Rankin
+ 1 973 937 0417
[email protected]

Michael Schneider
UK and Europe Region
+44 1270 534204
[email protected]

Paula Vivo
Latin America
+ 55 11 3957 2424
[email protected]

Analysts/Investors Contact
Mark Gottlieb
+ 1 800 836 0342
[email protected]

GEN/PR1

http://www.globalcrossing.com/enterprise/enterprise_security_solutions_landing.aspx

https://www.ucommand.com

http://www.globalcrossing.com/network/network_security.aspx

http://www.globalcrossing.com/think_ahead/think_ahead_customer_experience.aspx

SOURCE Global Crossing