Singtel partners with Akamai to combat DDoS and web app attacks

Singtel and Akamai Technologies have announced a strategic cybersecurity partnership agreement which they say will provide businesses with enhanced protection against, and faster response to, Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) and web application attacks.

DDoS attacks are committed by cybercriminals who stealthily command unrelated computers, servers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices which are often located in different geographical locations. The purpose of these attacks is to saturate an enterprise’s network and compute resources, causing severe disruptions in normal operations. Cyber criminals also exploit vulnerabilities in websites and applications for the purposes of defacement, data theft and as point of entry into an organization’s network.

Singtel has been trained and certified by Akamai to deliver professional and managed security services for its Web Security solutions in the region. These services will be made available to Singapore enterprises first, followed by the regional markets in Asia Pacific.

Singtel’s Advanced Security Operations Centre (ASOC) staff will be trained to use the round-the-clock security monitoring and attack mitigation capabilities of Akamai’s Managed Security Service to respond more quickly to cyber-attacks. They will leverage Akamai’s end-to-end visibility of internet traffic and attack patterns globally to better monitor, alert, triage and mitigate against the latest security threats.

Singtel says it is the first telecoms service provider in the world to be certified by Akamai for its managed security solutions.

“The combination of our global threat intelligence with the enhanced capabilities of the ASOC will allow us to better help businesses secure their servers, connectivity, web infrastructure and applications against critical downtime and theft of commercial data while maintaining performance,” said William Woo, managing director of the cybersecurity business in Group Enterprise at Singtel. “The partnership further strengthens our existing relationship with Akamai, taking it to a new level of collaboration to reinforce Singapore as a safe business hub, and the Asia Pacific as a region which is conducive for doing business.”

Commenting on the partnership, Graeme Beardsell, Akamai’s MD for Asia Pacific & Japan, said, “This is especially timely as Singapore aims to engender a secure, resilient infocomm environment as well as a vibrant cyber security ecosystem with its National Cyber Security Masterplan 2018.”

The Singtel ASOC in Singapore is part of Singtel’s network of eight globally federated Security Operations Centres (SOCs) which provides end-to-end visibility of Internet traffic, corporate networks, user end-points and attack patterns globally. This facility will leverage Akamai’s globally distributed cloud security intelligence platform and its network of five SOCs across Asia, Europe and US to provide round-the-clock security monitoring, response and remediation to any cyber-attack.

Together with global threat intelligence from Singtel’s managed security services unit Trustwave and other security intelligence partners, Singtel promises comprehensive intelligence on sophisticated cyber threats to help businesses in the Asia Pacific region better protect themselves by proactively taking the necessary precautions.