Optus teams with FireEye to tackle APTs

Optus Business has teamed up with FireEye to offer managed security and defence services to Asia-Pacific customers.

As part of the partnership, the two companies will invest up to $57 million (US$50 million) over five years to build advanced security operation centres (ASOCs) in Sydney and Singapore.

The two facilities will train and employ up to 150 cybersecurity professionals focused on detecting, monitoring, analysing and containing new advanced persistent threats (APTs) and malware.

The Australian ASOC is expected to open in early 2015. Both facilities will be integrated with Optus parent SingTel’s Network Operation Centres and FireEye’s global ASOC network - as well as FireEye Dynamic Threat Intelligence, a global network of connected threat prevention platforms.

The two companies will also collaborate on offering managed defence services based on FireEye technologies, targeted at enterprise and government customers.

The managed defence offering will focus on the quick detection and containment of malware and other perceived threats. It will include 24x7 monitoring and analysis of potential cyber threats. The service will incorporate FireEye’s virtual machine-based technology to close major attack vectors.

Optus and FireEye will also jointly work to produce threat reports focused on the Asia-Pacific market, including Australia. The reports will focus on tracking APT activities and identify the types of malware that are affecting different countries in the region.

SingTel Group Enterprise CEO Bill Chang said, with the threat reports, the companies will aim to “strengthen the industry’s awareness and knowledge in dealing with cyber threats.”

One reason the partnership is focused on Asia-Pacific is that FireEye research suggests that countries in the region - including Australia - are more likely than the global average to be targeted by advanced cyber attacks.

This is leading to strong demand for cybersecurity talent and a corresponding skills shortage in the cyber-forensics, incidence-response and threat-analysis disciplines.

According to FireEye’s biannual APAC threat report, roughly half of Australian organisations have been the target of an APT.

Australian Information Industry Association chairman Kee Wong said, in this context, the Australian ICT sector as a whole could potentially benefit from the collaboration between Optus and FireEye. “We will gain greater awareness of threats against Australian business interest and be better equipped to deal with such threats,” he said.

This is the second major security investment made by Optus business this year. In June, the company announced it will open a security centre of excellence focused on helping organisations navigate end-to-end security. The company already offers security services including managed firewall, DDoS, intrusion detection, content security and secure internet gateways.

Image courtesy of Alpha under CC