AT&T Cybersecurity has been renamed LevelBlue after entering into a joint venture. Private Equity firm WillJam Ventures is the new majority shareholder, former parent company AT&T will keep both a minority stake and a seat on the board of directors. The announcement was made during the RSA Conference in San Francisco this week.
LevelBlue offers managed security services designed to relieve customers’ data security concerns. These services can be delivered at scale. In LevelBlue’s words, the company acts as an extension of the customer’s own data security department. The company claims to have a large, always-on global presence.
LevelBlue also provides consultancy, conducts research, and offers real-time threat intelligence. It does so in part by using AI and by being affiliated with the Open Threat Exchange (OTX). This community comprises more than 235,000 security professionals who together account for some 20 million daily threat indicators.
Inspiring confidence
Brand-new owner WillJam further emphasizes the experience that its more than 1,000 employees bring: an average of about 15 years on the job, with knowledge of working with organizations both large and small. That sounds somewhat like it is meant to inspire confidence, and it kind of is. The new majority stock owner is keen to reassure current customers (and potential new ones) after AT&T Security seemed to be slumping a bit.
AT&T’s 2018 acquisition of Alienvault, a threat detection specialist, had not quite turned out as hoped. Not much later, activist shareholder Elliott Management pressured AT&T to divest subsidiaries, get its housekeeping in order, and stop making acquisitions.
As a result, AT&T had been looking to shed its security arm for a while. The erstwhile owner now keeps a minority stake in the new company, which should perhaps allay concerns that the telco is not serious about network security. The dowry AT&T is bringing to this joint venture are assets from its purchase of Alienvault.
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