CenturyLink tapped by DHS to provide cybersecurity under expanded EINSTEIN 3 contract

CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) was awarded an expansion contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide EINSTEIN 3 Accelerated (E³A) protections to U.S. federal civilian agencies, a win that illustrates its growing presence in the cybersecurity protection space.

The contract allows federal agencies to get access to these E³A services, something which they previously could not get through their existing Internet service providers.

This is the second time the DHS has tapped CenturyLink for an EINSTEIN cybersecurity contract. In March 2013, CenturyLink won a contract to provide EINSTEIN cybersecurity protections to the company's customers.

Civilian agencies that get their Internet service through CenturyLink can use E3A to get an array of services, including Domain Name System protections, advanced email filtering and signature-based intrusion prevention security services.

The benefit for DHS is that the agency can bolster the United States' defense against an ever-growing set of cyber threats, while meeting the objectives outlined by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to make E3A protections available to all federal civilian agencies by the end of the year. 

DHS's EINSTEIN program uses network traffic patterns indicating known or suspected malicious cyber activity to help participating federal agencies protect their IT systems. The program provides the capabilities to other agencies through a combination of commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software, government-developed software, and commercially available managed security services that are enhanced by DHS-provided information. 

In addition to EINSTEIN, CenturyLink is a fully approved commercial services provider under the DHS Enhanced Cybersecurity Services (ECS) program, which helps U.S.-based companies protect their IT systems from unauthorized access, exploitation and data exfiltration.

Being awarded an extension contract on DHS' EINSTEIN program is important for CenturyLink, particularly as it looks to deepen its presence as a managed security and cloud provider in the public sector market, a market that's moving fast along these paths.

For more:
- see the release

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