AT&T and IBM to join forces to strengthen network security and manage cyber threats

AT&T and IBM announced on Feb. 25 a new strategic relationship to give businesses a simplified, single-source for network security and threat management.

The two companies will offer business customers a new joint service which combines security network infrastructure with advanced threat monitoring and analytics.

Cyber threats have become a boardroom agenda with the potential to bring down an organization’s network, create compliance issues, damage bottom lines and impact brand reputation. Additionally, disparate security technologies create “security silos,” increasing cost and complexity of security management, and making it almost impossible to uniformly monitor security threats across IT environments.

The new service from AT&T and IBM will help businesses address these challenges with a highly secure network infrastructure, analytics and the optimal blend of on-premise and next-generation cloud-managed security capabilities.

AT&T and IBM said in a press release that they will improve the management of these capabilities, with the following customer benefits:

• Reduced costs and minimized complexities;
• Advanced visibility with intelligence and control across diverse IT environments;
• Simplified infrastructure with less need for security hardware, licenses and maintenance.

“AT&T and IBM individually have world-class IT security data monitoring operations, each generating advanced security threat intelligence from the billions of security events they track each day,” says the news release. “Together, the two companies will create a combined security intelligence source and analytics capability that will be unmatched in the industry.”

The new offering is comprised of proven solutions from AT&T and IBM. Specific elements of the new offering include Network Security Infrastructure and Managed Security Services from AT&T, including network-based firewall, IDS/IPS, Web filtering, secure email gateway and distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection services for security devices managed on premise or in the AT&T cloud.

IBM capabilities include IBM network security consulting to assess and transform network security; IBM security monitoring and threat intelligence for faster threat detection and response; and IBM emergency response services for around-the-clock security expert support in responding to sophisticated attacks and helping remediate them.

“With today’s constantly changing threat environment, companies need cost-effective solutions that provide end-to-end protection alongside real-time monitoring and response operations,” said Andy Daudelin, vice president of security services for AT&T Business Solutions. “We’ve created an unparalleled solution with the combined strength, reliability, and agility of AT&T network-based security services and IBM threat intelligence and analytics.”

“Organizations are finding great benefits with hybrid IT strategies that blend mobile, cloud-based and on-premise IT resources,” added Kris Lovejoy, general manager of IBM Security Services. “But securing these infrastructures can be complicated without a single, integrated management system that avoids creating silos of security data, making it almost impossible to uniformly monitor security threats across environments. IBM and AT&T have come together to offer unprecedented security services designed to break down those silos and better secure data no matter where it resides.”