BT and Cisco Enable Secure Digitization for De Beers and Nationwide

Globally, cyber crime is skyrocketing. No matter what business you are involved in; cyber criminals are looking for ways to infiltrate your business for profit. Retail establishments are targeted for credit card theft, motion picture studios have had unreleased films stolen, and hospital databases have been infiltrated to steal patient identities. Organizations like the DNC were hacked causing political embarrassment and broadcasters like TV5Monde and Charter Communications were used to transmit nefarious messages. To combat a 1000% increase in cyber threats seen over 2015, global telecoms giant, BT, embarked on a partnership with Cisco to strengthen BT’s network and advanced threat protection capabilities. As a result, BT combined their cyber security expertise with Cisco threat-centric security solutions to secure their own business and included the same technologies in BT Assure Cyber Managed Security Services portfolio to protect their customers.

Businesses small and large are concerned about cyber security but often they lack the expertise or the desire to acquire in house capability. To enable their customer’s business and accelerate digital business transformation, BT helps their customers safely participate in the digital age by providing best-in-class cyber security as a service. BT Assure Cyber helps protect BT’s customers from new, highly targeted, and constantly evolving threats from well-funded, organized cyber criminals. Included in BT’s portfolio is next-generation Cisco security technology including next-generation firewalls, next-generation IPS, and Advanced Malware Protection. Customers trust BT to help them stay ahead of cyber threats. Using their unique insight into the latest threat intelligence, gleaned from their global customer’s security installations coupled with the Cisco security infrastructure, attacks across their customer base can be thwarted.

And this strategy is working. BT’s IP Connect Global Network operates in over 197 countries and is built upon Cisco networking, telepresence, and security technologies enabling them to service large multinational customers in diverse metropolitan locations or remote reaches of the planet. De Beers Canada, the world’s leading diamond miner by value, manages mines, exploration technologies as well as retail operations across the globe. The BT infrastructure, powered by Cisco, enables De Beers to securely locate personnel and manage operations from a central location. James Ross, Head of Information Management, states that “BT and Cisco play a big role in our cyber security approach in the sense that they helped us build our network with an eye on security to protect ourselves, and to protect the information of the people that work with us and our partners.”

Mobile and online banking is continuing to grow significantly and so are threats to IT and network security. Recent high-profile cases have highlighted the need for banks and other financial services institutions to be super-safe when it comes to security. Nationwide, the world’s largest building society with 15 million members and 17,000 employees, turned to BT to protect Nationwide both now and in the future. “We regard it very much as a partnership. That’s made stronger by the fact that the two organizations have similar cultures. And we know BT has the capability and expertise across the globe in an area that Nationwide doesn’t.” – Debra Bailey, Chief Information Officer, Nationwide Building Society

In an uncertain global threat landscape, here are examples of two large multinational companies, both leaders in their industries, have chosen to outsource cyber security to the leaders they trust.