UK telco launches new cybersecurity platform based on recent investment in Safe Security.

Anne Morris, Contributing Editor, Light Reading

October 14, 2021

3 Min Read
BT takes Eagle-i approach to cybersecurity

BT trumpeted the launch of a new security platform as part of ongoing efforts to thwart increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.

Called Eagle-i, the platform is based on technology from recent BT investment Safe Security as well as what the UK telco described as its "partner ecosystem."

BT described Eagle-i as its most sophisticated cyber defence platform yet and said it will use an artificial intelligence (AI) layer to "provide real-time detection of issues and intelligent automated responses, enabling users to significantly speed up their reaction to security issues and outpace their cyber threats."

The telco believes much more needs to be done to counter the "relentless growth and ever-changing nature of the threat landscape." Worryingly, BT identified a more than 50% increase in malware traffic over the last six months.

On the Safe side

Silicon Valley startup Safe Security is providing its Security Assessment Framework for Enterprise (Safe) to support work by BT experts in assessing levels of vulnerability of organizations to cyberattacks and determining the so-called "Safe score."

Kevin Brown, managing director, BT Security, said: "Security is now at the top of the boardroom and government agenda – yet many organisations are seeing their cyber risks increase to unmanageable levels."

"This situation demands a new, proactive approach. Eagle-i leverages the latest advances in AI and automation to continually monitor, learn and evolve so customers can stay a step ahead of cyber criminals."

BT also works with a group of other security companies, although last year the telco slimmed down its network of solution providers with the aim of simplifying security decisions for its customer base.

Want to know more about security? Check out our dedicated security channel here on
Light Reading.

Fortinet, McAfee, and Palo Alto Networks were nominated as critical partners while Cisco Systems, IBM, and Microsoft are strategic partners. Other ecosystem partners are Check Point, CrowdStrike, F5, ForeScout, Netscout, Okta, Qualys, Skybox Security, and Zscaler.

Omdia, a sister company to Light Reading, recently said that the coronavirus pandemic has changed technology priorities for organizations worldwide and noted that the top two enterprise priorities are now cybersecurity (58%) and hybrid working (55%).

As reported by Dark Reading, also a sister company, PricewaterhouseCoopers found that more than two-thirds of companies plan to increase their cyber budget in 2022 to better protect their systems and data, with more than half of executives fearing an increase in reportable attacks.

Related posts:

— Anne Morris, contributing editor, special to Light Reading

Read more about:

Europe

About the Author(s)

Anne Morris

Contributing Editor, Light Reading

Anne Morris is a freelance journalist, editor and translator. She has been working in the telecommunications sector since 1996, when she joined the London-based team of Communications Week International as copy editor. Over the years she held the editor position at Total Telecom Online and Total Tele-com Magazine, eventually leaving to go freelance in 2010. Now living in France, she writes for a number of titles and also provides research work for analyst companies.

Subscribe and receive the latest news from the industry.
Join 62,000+ members. Yes it's completely free.

You May Also Like