SAVVIS Launches Network-Based DDoS Attack Mitigation Service; New Utility Security Service Offers Protection to SAVVIS Network and Hosting Service Customers Without the Cost of Dedicated Equipment

Business Wire, Dec 19, 2005

ST. LOUIS -- SAVVIS, Inc. (NASDAQ:SVVS), a leading global IT utility services provider, today announced the launch and availability of its latest managed security service: SAVVIS network-based distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack mitigation. The new cloud-based service offers DDoS attack mitigation to any of SAVVIS' 5,000 network and hosting customers.

Because the service is network-based, SAVVIS' customers are not required to purchase any equipment or software. The DDoS filtering equipment, which relies on advanced detection and mitigation technologies, is located on SAVVIS' private wide area network backbone, which extends to 47 countries and serves more than 25 percent of the world's Internet traffic.

The new service is powered by Arbor Networks' PeakFlow network anomaly-detection products that have been deployed throughout the SAVVIS network. The service also employs Cisco's Guard XT device to mitigate the attacks. By performing comparative analysis of baseline traffic patterns, these systems are able to quickly and efficiently recognize the aberrant data flow signatures that are characteristic of DDoS and worm attacks.

Customer traffic is analyzed at SAVVIS' peering-router level, the point at which SAVVIS receives network traffic from other peering partners. Because the traffic is examined at this level, malicious traffic can be eliminated before customers are billed for excess bandwidth. This system is currently protecting a variety of network-dependent enterprises, including a major banking corporation and a major media company.

"Denial of service mitigation is not a trivial technical problem; many solutions place this capability inside the enterprise perimeter, too close to the victim to provide any real protection, said Dan Golding, Senior Analyst with The Burton Group. "Only a network-based denial of service mitigation solution can provide realistic protection to enterprise resources and capabilities."

The service is available in two forms: Basic and Enhanced. The Basic service is a cost-effective DDoS option that protects service subscribers within 15 minutes of SAVVIS being notified by the customer of an attack. The Enhanced service offers automatic detection and a five-minute response time. Both services are sold in increments protecting 1Gb of "attack time" traffic. Additional levels of throughput protection may be added as needed.

Network-based DDoS Mitigation is the newest addition to SAVVIS' growing portfolio of managed security services that are tailored to meet the requirements of the company's diverse customer base. These services can be placed in three primary categories:

--SAVVIS Security Utility -- security solutions that deliver virtualized "on-demand" firewall and intrusion detection for hosted infrastructure, in-network firewalling, and DDoS and worm attack detection and mitigation for the wide area network.

--Dedicated Security Services -- a layered combination of industry-leading technologies that provide intrusion detection and prevention services, managed network perimeter security, access and authentication, and scanning and analysis services.

--Security Consulting Services -- a complete set of security and compliance services that cover every aspect of the security cycle, from assessment and design to implementation and management including security assessment services, compliance assurance management, remediation services, security architecture design and implementation and security policy development.

"DDoS attacks can bury a network and crush a web server in a matter of minutes," said Chris Richter, Vice President & General Manager, Security Products and Services, of SAVVIS. "SAVVIS offers protection against these attacks with an easily implemented, cost-effective service that is delivered via our global network to both network and hosting services customers worldwide. With SAVVIS, customers can have peace of mind and avoid the headaches and expense of buying and maintaining their own mitigation hardware."

SAVVIS first gained prominence delivering IT services to the demanding financial services industry. These customers were attracted to the layers of advanced managed security technologies built into SAVVIS' global private network and hosting infrastructure. SAVVIS' secure private network ensured that all customers gained global protection, including the ability to react to any security event within minutes across the entire network.

SAVVIS' comprehensive managed security services offering is backed by a coordinated team of highly skilled security professionals who cover internal security, service delivery operations, professional services and engineering, as well as a chief security office that liaises with a roster of government leaders that includes Members of the U.S. Congress.

The company's service portfolio was engineered specifically to address a growing demand for managed security services. This demand is being driven by known internal and external security risks, as well as security challenges associated with government regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and other compliance-related directives.