CenturyLink awarded new DHS EINSTEIN 3 accelerated task order

Monroe, LA-based CenturyLink, Inc. announced on December 8 that it 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.

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.

“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.”

SOURCE CenturyLink, Inc.