Alcatel-Lucent breaks into cyber security

Alcatel-Lucent has made its first foray into the cyber security sector by partnering with security specialist Arbor Networks to deliver DDoS (distributed denial of service) protection to Telindus Telecom in Luxembourg.

Telindus is Belgacom Group’s ICT branch and focuses on delivering enterprise telecom services to private and public-sector companies.

Alcatel-Lucent is new to the security sector. As part of its Shift Plan the company is developing its activities in the cyber-security segment, as it increases its overall specialist focus on IP Networking and Ultra-Broadband Access.

Alcatel-Lucent’s partnership with Arbor comprises Alcatel-Lucent’s IP routers and Arbor’s Threat Management System in the cloud, which enable Telindus to intercept and eliminate DDoS traffic at the edge of the network, before it reaches critical infrastructure or enterprise customers.

DDoS attacks attempt to flood network assets with bogus traffic to prevent real traffic getting through, often ensuring long periods of downtime for the victim.

“DDoS has emerged as an incredibly resilient and innovative attack vector. A cloud-based service to handle DDoS attacks is a highly valued service differentiator because many businesses do not have the skill-set or resources to keep up with this rapidly escalating threat on their own.” said Gérard Hoffmann, chairman and managing director of Telindus Luxembourg.