OREANDA-NEWS. Level 3 Communications (NYSE: LVLT) deployed Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Flowspec on its global backbone. The capability is one of the largest deployments in the industry, leveraging Level 3's more than 43 terabits of backbone capacity and protecting its peering points. BGP Flowspec allows for rapid threat mitigation across the Level 3 backbone, shutting down volumetric attacks and providing a more secure network for its customers.

This enhancement to Level 3's suite of security solutions better provides responsive service capabilities for customers while at the same time helping to create a safer internet ecosystem. Enterprises need a DDoS mitigation service provider with the tools and expertise to fight these large-scale, potentially expensive attacks.

How It Works:

  • BGP is the protocol all internet routers use to talk to each other.
  • BGP Flowspec uses the BGP protocol to distribute flow specification filters to network routers – if a threat is identified, the Level 3 DDoS infrastructure inputs a rule to block or deny traffic related to the threat by its source, destination and a number of other characteristics.
  • The malicious traffic is systematically and temporarily filtered off the network, blocking threats globally before they have time to form fully or scale and affect a customer.

Key Facts:

  • Level 3 has both the network architecture and skilled professionals in place to leverage this threat-fighting tool.
  • As a global network services provider, Level 3 has an expansive view of worldwide internet traffic and a broad view of threats.
  • In an industry with so few qualified resources, Level 3 has security operations center professionals in five global locations trained to use this powerful tool.
  • BGP Flowspec is built into Level 3's Network Protection and DDoS Mitigation services.

Key Quote:

Chris Rodriguez, Senior Industry Analyst, Network Security, Frost & Sullivan
"DDoS attacks generated by use of amplification and reflection techniques can easily overwhelm onsite DDoS appliances. Enterprises need a solution that scales, can provide swift mitigation and has the capacity to handle the 500 Gbps attacks targeting corporations today. Using the power of BGP Flowspec, Level 3's DDoS Mitigation and Network Protect security products offer the scalability, rapid response times and network-based cloud solutions enterprises need to mitigate DDoS attacks that are only increasing in frequency, magnitude and sophistication."

Anthony Christie, Chief Marketing Officer, Level 3
"Enterprises face a new cybersecurity challenge every day – from pre-attack scans to malware to increased volumetric DDoS attacks. They need adaptive and efficient solutions to protect their business, security personnel bench strength to avoid draining their limited resources and a secure network they can depend on. Our global deployment of BGP Flowspec provides unparalleled capacity and protection from large-scale attacks. Level 3's trained professionals manage this powerful tool so that customers can scale for business growth, not cyber defense."

About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) is a Fortune 500 company that provides local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers. Level 3's comprehensive portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area Ethernet services; video and content distribution; data center and cloud-based solutions. Level 3 serves customers in more than 500 markets in over 60 countries across a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities.