Advanced persistent threats (APTs) are increasingly targeting intellectual property of enterprises and carrying out espionage missions against political organizations and government; and are increasing in number. BT has beefed up its capabilities in this area, adding an APT-specific prong to its security portfolio.
The Assure Threat Defence is a combined offering of event monitoring technology and BT Assure professional services, specifically designed to counteract the growing threat posed by complex and targeted attacks by cyber-criminals. The service automatically monitors network traffic and downloads to identify complex infections across the full range of customer devices - such as PCs, laptops, mobile devices, servers and files.
APTs are, of course, capable of bypassing traditional security monitors which usually rely on signature-based detection tools. Assure Threat Defence eschews signature-based detection techniques to zero in an unknown and custom malware.
“Cyber-criminals are increasingly creating custom malware that evades common signature-based malware detection methods,” said Mark Hughes, president of BT Security, in a statement. “They will often use tactics like email spoofing and malicious web content to deploy their custom malware and establish an initial foothold in a target environment.”
He added, “Traditional security controls can’t always adequately protect against these advanced techniques. Assure Threat Defence has been designed to offer organizations world-class resistance to address the constantly evolving threat landscape. It creates a secure and robust solution for customers across all sectors and of all sizes.”
Once a threat is identified, BT security analysts investigate the issue, evaluate the risk and notify the customer with highly informed details on the threat’s targets and associated cybersecurity information.
"With this new service wrapped into our managed security service, customers can rest assured that they have the valuable awareness and protection against advanced threats, ensuring that they are doing everything in their power to stay one step ahead of attackers,” Hughes said.
BT is piloting the new service in the Americas, with a worldwide launch planned for later in the year.