AT&T's Cloud-Based Cybersecurity Offering is Targeting the Government

AT&T has received government approval for a new cloud-based cybersecurity offering, with one executive noting that the certification could help speed up cloud deployments among government customers.

According to Brandon Pearce, AVP of cybersecurity solutions, AT&T's Threat Detection and Response for Government product were subjected to a 325-point inspection to ensure it fulfilled security criteria set out by the US Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). He explained that FedRAMP certification would allow agencies around the government to use the company's product without having to independently verify that it meets security standards, eliminating one of the most time-consuming aspects of moving operations to the cloud.

Pearce highlighted cybersecurity as a crucial capability and priority for government customers, noting that the public sector is a popular target for cyber attacks. The public sector, behind professional services (particularly law firms) and healthcare organizations, was the third most common victim of ransomware attacks in Q1 2021, according to data released by ransomware tracker Coveware in April.

The new offering, which is based on AT&T's Unified Security Management (USM) platform, includes threat detection, incident response, and compliance management capabilities to assist government customers in securing assets that run or are stored in the cloud. According to Pearce, it works by detecting and mitigating vulnerabilities utilizing intelligence gathered by AT&T and from an open threat exchange platform.

The service is hosted in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) GovCloud, which is built on federal cybersecurity standards, but it can also be used in Microsoft and Google's government cloud environments.  Further integrations with other FedRAMP-approved applications and products, such as Office 365, are in the works, Pearce said.

Pearce added, "The product is already generating a lot of interest, not just among our federal agencies, as you might expect, but also among commercial companies that deal with the government."

The launch is AT&T’s latest move in the public sector. It earned a $231 million network expansion and cybersecurity contract from the US Treasury Department in March, and a $175 million contract from the Department of Transportation to improve its voice and IP infrastructure.