Level 3 Adds New Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Mitigation Offering, with Approximately 4.5 Terabits per Second Attack-Ingest Capacities, to Suite of Global Security Services

USA - Nederlands

USA - Deutsch

USA - Français

Brazil - Português

Latin America - español

Uses International Threat Intelligence to Help Protect Customers From Evolving Cyber Threats

News provided by

Feb 12, 2015, 08:00 ET

BROOMFIELD, Colo., Feb. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- As the fight for a safe and secure Internet intensifies around the world, Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) enhances its managed security portfolio with a new tool for enterprises looking to safeguard their critical data and systems, Level 3^sm DDoS Mitigation Service. The differentiated service provides protection closer to the network edge, saving customers time and money when it matters most – in the face of an attack.

DDoS attacks are on the rise. Level 3 leverages its vast DDoS ingest capacity to predict and detect malicious attacks, alert customers and quickly re-route traffic to defend their critical data infrastructures.

Level 3 Network Visibility: The Level 3 Security Operations Center (SOC) proactively monitors the Internet to protect customers.

"Level 3 has continued to listen to our customers to help them securely grow their business and provide solutions that help them efficiently solve the challenges they face today," said Anthony Christie, chief marketing officer at Level 3. "This announcement underscores not only our customer commitment but also our ability to change the way enterprises think about security, offering them a new layer of protection."

The combination of Level 3's expansive network which provides extensive attack traffic visibility and the service's ability to work on both Level 3 and on third-party networks provides a clear differentiator in the marketplace for customers. The vast level of visibility comes from the company's Content Delivery Network (CDN), IP and Domain Name System (DNS) networks. The addition of Level 3's threat analysis capabilities and managed security services enable it to assist enterprises in building a strong security posture to address today's complex threat landscape.

"Throughout my tenure in the cybersecurity business, I have never seen such an accelerated and sophisticated cyber threat landscape – and attacks will only continue to grow in frequency, size and complexity," said Chris Richter, senior vice president of managed security services at Level 3. "Level 3 has leveraged its global network infrastructure and managed security services with leading detection and mitigation technologies to provide our customers with a truly advanced layer of defense against these evolving exploits."

Evolving Threat Landscape Necessitates Multi-layered Solutions
According to the 2014 Radware Global Application & Network Security Report, 51 percent of reported DDoS attacks targeted the network and 49 percent targeted applications. A multi-layer approach – starting with the network – lets enterprises protect their critical information from either type of attack. Having both network controls and scrubbing centers allows Level 3 to predict and detect malicious attacks, alert customers and quickly re-route traffic to defend their critical data infrastructures.

At the core of the service, Level 3 leverages its vast DDoS ingest capacity, 4.5 terabits per second, to monitor customer's traffic and route infected packets to one of Level 3's globally located scrubbing centers before being returned via a private connection or the public Internet.

"An integrated security approach is a natural evolution of DDoS protection. Applying advanced analytics to rich, flow-based security data to augment traditional security data enables new functionality, to not only block attacks but also predict them," according to Frank Dickson, a research director with Frost & Sullivan. "With its global network reach and visibility, Level 3 is well positioned to take advantage of data analytics for the purpose of improving the efficacy of DDoS detection and mitigation techniques."

DDoS Mitigation with Extensive Attack Traffic Visibility
The global service provides enhanced network routing, rate limiting and IP filtering alongside a network-based detection and mitigation scrubbing solution. Additionally, enterprises gain the benefits of threat intelligence used by Level 3's Security Operations Center (SOC).

Additional benefits include:

Improved Performance – Ensure website, core applications and infrastructure remain secure and available
Greater Security – Defend against a wide range of attack types and sizes from layers 3 to 7
Reduced Costs – Minimize upfront capital expenditures while providing multiple protection options for any IT budget
Global and Scalable Coverage – Support flexible and growing networks in locations around the globe with scrubbing centers distributed throughout the world, not just in North America

For more information on Level 3's advanced network and security offerings, visit www.level3.com.

About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) is a Fortune 500 company that provides local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers. Level 3's comprehensive portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area Ethernet services; video and content distribution; data center and cloud-based solutions. Level 3 serves customers in more than 500 markets in over 60 countries across a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities. For more information, please visit www.level3.com or get to know us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

© Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Level 3, Level 3 Communications, Level (3) and the Level 3 Logo are either registered service marks or service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC and/or one of its Affiliates in the United States and elsewhere. Any other service names, product names, company names or logos included herein are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Level 3 services are provided by subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statement
Some statements made in this press release are forward-looking in nature and are based on management's current expectations or beliefs. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside Level 3's control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. Important factors that could prevent Level 3 from achieving its stated goals include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to: successfully integrate the tw telecom acquisition; manage risks associated with continued uncertainty in the global economy; increase revenue from its services to realize its targets for financial and operating performance; maintain and increase traffic on its network; develop and maintain effective business support systems; manage system and network failures or disruptions; avert the breach of its network and computer system security measures; develop new services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; manage the future expansion or adaptation of its network to remain competitive; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; manage continued or accelerated decreases in market pricing for communications services; obtain capacity for its network from other providers and interconnect its network with other networks on favorable terms; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; successfully integrate future acquisitions; effectively manage political, legal, regulatory, foreign currency and other risks it is exposed to due to its substantial international operations; mitigate its exposure to contingent liabilities; and meet all of the terms and conditions of its debt obligations. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Level 3's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Level 3 is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.