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Web Hosting, VoIP Firm, Covad, Upgrades Network Protection Security

San Jose, California - (The Hosting News) - February 25, 2008 - Web host and national provider of integrated voice and data communications firm, Covad Communications Group, Inc., has enhanced its network potection solution,. against denial of service and bot and worm attacks.

In addition, the Company also serves as an active member of a fingerprint sharing alliance. in order to more easily resolve cross-company network threats, with the Arbor Network Peakflow SP software solution. The network enhancement is designed to protect Covad’s network against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, worms, and other network vulnerabilities and routing instabilities. The latter includes hacker-controlled botnets that can be used to attack a Website or network on command. This network enhancement helps to protect all of Covad’s customers at no additional cost to them. In addition to deploying the software solution, Covad also serves as an active member of the Fingerprint Sharing Alliance (FSA), a global coalition of Arbor’s telecommunications customers that have joined together to prevent cyber attacks that cross service provider and national boundaries.

Dr. Ron Marquardt, Chief Technology Officer for Covad noted, ”Continuing to ensure the integrity of our nationwide network is of the utmost importance as we deliver innovative and outstanding services to our customers. This network enhancement and membership in the FSA improves our traffic monitoring capability and has enabled Covad to save customers and partners thousands of dollars in losses due to security incidents.”

Paul Morville, Vice President of product management for Arbor Networks remarked, ”Given the global nature of distributed denial of service attacks, it is critical for service providers to work together and collaborate in order to stop these attacks as close to the source as possible. Service providers are increasingly interconnected and the Fingerprint Sharing Alliance has put in place an automated framework that dramatically speeds time to resolution.”

Denial of Service and bot and worm attacks are among the most costly security attacks suffered by businesses and other organizations that rely on IP communications. The 2007 Computer Crime and Security Survey released by the Computer Security Institute reported the following:

• 25 percent of respondents reported a denial of service attack, with total respondent losses approaching $2.9 million;
• 21 percent of respondents reported a Bot attack, with total respondent losses approaching $2.9 million;
• 52 percent of respondents reported a virus attack (including worm attacks), with total respondent losses of approximately $8.4 million.

Covad deployed Arbor’s Peakflow SP platform solution to analyze its transit, peering and routing traffic. Arbor’s Peakflow SP will also assist in proactively detecting, tracing and mitigating network-wide anomalies and attacks. These solutions will help Covad resolve DoS attacks and worms before they affect its network. This proactive response translates to tangible customer benefits including higher network availability and reduced exposure to common Internet threats.

As a member of the FSA, Covad benefits from the sharing of cyber attack profiles, or ”fingerprints”, to stop attacks more quickly and closer to the source. The FSA is the first effort in which telecommunications companies have been able to share attack profiles automatically, allowing providers to consistently protect one another and their customers from security threats. With the formation of the FSA, a formerly laborious and tedious process has been replaced with an efficient and automated process, and a larger community can be engaged to solve significant threats to the Internet.

In addition to these network and industry initiatives Covad also provides enhanced security options directly to its customers. Covad previously announced that is has entered into an agreement that allows Covad to bundle McAfee Total Protection for Small Business services with Covad’s award-winning broadband products to provide small business customers with a simple, affordable solution to meet their security needs.

A nationwide provider of integrated voice and data communications, Covad offers DSL, Voice Over IP, T1, web hosting, managed security, IP and dial-up, wireless broadband, and bundled voice and data services directly through Covad’s network and through Internet Service Providers, value-added resellers, telecommunications carriers and affinity groups to small and medium-sized businesses and home users. According to the company, as the first company to commercially deploy DSL in the United States, Covad has spent hundreds of millions of dollars building a network that passes more than 57 million homes and businesses in 44 states - the largest nationwide footprint of any DSL company. Covad broadband services are currently available across the nation in 235 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) which represent over 50 percent of all US homes and businesses. Corporate headquarters is located at 110 Rio Robles, San Jose, California 95134. Telephone: 1-888-GO-COVAD.

For more information about Purecom, please visit: www.purecom.com.

To learn more Covad, please visit: www.covad.com.