BT announced the global availability of its cloud-based Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Mitigation service to help organisations stay secure and ensure continuity of service amid growing number of threats and attacks. This latest global launch adds to a growing portfolio of security services aimed at further securing BT’s cloud services integration offerings, in line with its ‘Cloud of Clouds’ technology vision.

BT’s ‘Cloud of Clouds’ security capabilities were unveiled to media, analysts, customers and BT employees during the opening of BT’s state-of-the art global security showcase in Sevenoaks, UK, on September 23. The new facility is designed for BT’s corporate and public sector customers looking to build a more sustainable business with added security and resilience. It provides access to highly skilled cyber security specialists and to innovative demonstrations where visitors get to experience a real-life working environment and the security actions based on up to the minute threat intelligence.

BT’s ‘Cloud of Clouds’ technology vision is based on a new generation of cloud services that allow organisations around the world to connect easily and securely to the applications and the data they need, independently of where they are hosted. This vision requires uncompromising security as well as the ability for organisations to roll out end-to-end policies that meet very stringent compliance and assurance requirements.

After rolling out robust authentication services into the cloud through its BT Assure Cloud Identity access management service, and embedding firewall security directly into the network via BT Assure Cloud Firewall, BT is now adding global cloud-based capabilities for organisations to mitigate growing risks of DDoS attacks.

Cloud of Clouds for Security

BT’s own research shows that 41 per cent of organisations globally were hit by DDoS attacks during the course of 2014, with three quarters of those (78 per cent) targeted twice or more in the year.

BT Assure DDoS mitigation technologies work by ‘cleaning’ the internet traffic, and sorting through the normal and malicious requests. BT has a single platform for detection and mitigation. This means rogue traffic can be detected automatically and action taken very quickly to protect customer’s network.

By using a cloud-based solution, the DDoS attack is mitigated before it hits the customer’s network and, in some cases, even before it enters the BT network. This means limited or no impact on the customer’s business and no compromised performance.

Mark Hughes, CEO, BT Security, says: “Security is at the very top of the agenda for CIOs, and business leaders in general, when they look at leveraging the opportunities of the cloud. The risks associated with cloud computing are another business risk to be managed through robust governance practices, and those risks increase as organisations embrace cloud services hosted outside of their own estate. Our vision of the ‘Cloud of Clouds’ brings security to the heart of BT’s cloud services integration offer. Our global network already has very strong security features, including firewall services embedded throughout. Our cloud identity management solution ensures appropriate access for employees, customers and partners to the cloud or on premise applications irrespective of their location. Today, we are proud to open the doors to our new global security showcase as we announce the global availability of our DDoS mitigation service.”

In July 2015, the BT Global Services Managed Security portfolio was rated as “very strong” in a report by Current Analysis. John Marcus, Principal Analyst, Business Network and IT Services at Current Analysis said: “BT Global Services’ managed security services are very strong relative to the solutions offered by its rivals, thanks to the breadth and depth of its portfolio. For the growing number of enterprises seeking a broader, integrated solution rather than treating security as an isolated silo, BT can offer a one-stop-shop security experience. BT has been extremely active in making enhancements and additions to its security portfolio, with five new service launches in 2015 already, and is in the process of migrating core security offerings from premises-based to cloud-based and BT-hosted solutions. There is much to be gained by the transition, driven by next-generation appliances and applications.”

Assure DDOS mitigation is designed as a modular, subscription cloud-based service, so different levels of protection can be added as required with no capital expenditure. The service was launched in the UK in 2014 and is now available globally.