BT unveils cyber security hub and cloud-based DDoS tool

BT’s cyber security hub, which demonstrates its real time response to cyber threats, is now open.

The company has also launched its new DDoS tool; the latest offering in BT’s business services suite.

At the BT-hosted demonstration, which included attendees such as V3, CEO of security Mark Hughes said that the hub would be the base for the company’s cyber security operations, keeping a constant lookout for potential threats.

Hughes said that among the hub’s most important roles is to offer protection against distributed denial of service attacks, which cyber criminals use to overload targeted IP addresses with traffic.

Hughes added:

“There was a view a few years ago that DDoS was something that was a passing phase… yet I see us and our customers constantly being tested with new attacks. Being able to respond to that for most of our customers is something we have to be extremely agile at.”

BT research found that 20% of international organisations were the victims of targeted DDoS attacks over one year, with 75% of them being targeted more than once.

Despite the movement of large companies light BT in battling against cyber crime, SMEs too need to play their part, and that starts with personnel. Systems play a role but without the staff to advise, they are not easy to implement. SMEs should be looking at their IT security recruitment strategy and asking themselves if they are doing enough to protect their data.