Atman invests in network security

25.11.2017
Company news, Product news

Atman, in cooperation with Atende Software, has completed implementation of a security system for IT infrastructure and customer data against high-volume volumetric attacks. Every year more and more DDoS attacks paralyze Polish companies. Atman AntiDDoS 2.0 service based on the redGuardian solution is intended to neutralize attempts of such attacks against Atman’s clients. This protection covers not only the companies which lease Atman’s dedicated servers, but it may now also be used by businesses that use Atman’s Internet connections in the office or colocation.

Atman’s decision to implement a new, efficient anti-DDoS system is the result of constant observation of market and technological trends. Reports of recent months are worrying: IT security is still the Achilles’ heel of most companies. This is well illustrated by the latest edition of Check Point Software’s network security ranking. In the company’s ranking, Poland takes 35th position, which means that it has moved 12 places down. This is the worst result of our country in the history of the ranking. At the same time, the number and the scale of DDoS attacks, aimed at preventing companies or institutions from operating by affecting all free network resources, have been systematically increasing.

Last year we witnessed a number of record-intensity attacks. One of the most infamous attacks was at www.krebsonsecurity.com service with the power of over 600 Gbps. Another cyberattack, even twice as strong, targeted the infrastructure of one of the French telecom operators.

“Fortunately, in Poland no attacks of such a large scale have been reported, but those that affect our businesses cause significant losses anyway. Cyberattacks affect even organizations with large IT budgets, for example, financial institutions have often struggled to ensure full availability of their services. In this situation, it is especially important to regularly increase the level of security and invest in such solutions as antiDDoS. Such systems as firewall or IPS are no longer sufficient,” notes Ewelina Hryszkiewicz of Atman, operator of the largest data center in Poland.

 

Tailored to our times

In spring, Atman announced the cyber-security agreement with Atende Software. Under the terms of the agreement, the operator has implemented a new, customized Anti-DDoS system, based on the redGuardian solution, which was developed by Atende Software. The new, already fully operational service called Atman AntiDDoS 2.0 has replaced the previous Wanguard-based anti-DDoS service. Atman AntiDDoS 2.0 is easier to use and more scalable, as well as cheaper.

What distinguishes Atman’s new solution? First of all, the ability to resist much stronger DDoS attacks than the ones we deal with most often. “Service users receive information about detected attacks on an ongoing basis through the Client Portal, as well as by e-mail. Messages contain information about the attacked Internet access service, such as IP address or server name, attack size in Mbps, and kpps, as well as information about actions taken to neutralize the attack, such as scrubbing. Moreover, customers are given the freedom to choose the parameters of defense, depending on their individual requirements. Whenever they anticipate increased traffic, e.g. in the case of new product promotion campaign, the customers are able to disable and re-enable the protection by themselves. Atman Customer Portal also gives customers access to all their statistics,” explains Ewelina Hryszkiewicz of Atman.

The service works fully automatically, does not require any configuration changes by the client, or installation of additional infrastructure components for the client by the operator. Thus, it may be enabled practically right away at any link end – the interface between an Atman’s client’s infrastructure and the Internet network.

 

DDoS – one-way road

Volumetric attacks are increasingly used by cybercriminals and there is no indication that anything can reverse this trend. According to the latest study by Akamai, they increased by nearly 30% in Q2 of this year compared to the same period in 2016. On average, cybercriminals carried out 32 attacks at the targeted companies. It is also worth mentioning the case of a game company which was attacked 558 times in Q2 2017 alone.

ATM S.A., operating under the Atman brand name, is a Warsaw Stock Exchange listed corporation which is the leader in the Polish data center market and expert in the secure transmission and processing of data. Atman provides colocation, hosting and cloud computing services at its own data centers, which contain total space of 13,600 square meters. Using its foreign connections and its fiber-optic networks in the largest cities in Poland, Atman offers broadband services, including Internet access and data transmission. Its main clients are telecommunications operators, traditional media and Web portals, as well as businesses in the financial sector, commerce and industry. For more information see atman.pl.