Tech giants respond to 'constant' cyber attacks

AT&T has demonstrated a a new security tool, Threat Intellect, that it says will cut response times to network threats by 95% by using machine learning and its wealth of data on previous attacks. Facebook has added end-to-end encryption to its Messenger service because of "constant attacks" on its systems. AT&T sees 200,000 "malware events" on its network every day.

John Shinal

Special for USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Two of the largest U.S. technology firms rolled out products last week that reflect a new normal for those who operate important online networks.

Now under attack "constantly" by cyber criminals, government agents and other hackers, companies are finding the best way to keep their users and customers safe on the Internet is to innovate.

The new tools from Facebook and AT&T are designed to do just that in this heightened threat environment.

After more than three years of development, AT&T demonstrated a new security tool in San Francisco it says will allow it to respond to network threats 95% faster.

"It's a significant challenge. Our customers are under attack," says Jason Porter, AT&T vice president for security solutions.

The product, called Threat Intellect, combines machine learning analysis with all the data that AT&T has collected on myriad cyber threats.

The company operates in "a high-target environment," says Porter, who previously helped lead rollouts of the telecom giant's DSL, U-Verse and iPhone products and service.

Facebook, meanwhile, launched a new encryption feature for users of its Messenger service.

The so-called end-to-end encryption can be applied to any two users who select it for an online conversation.

The technology produces a set of two encryption keys — known only to the users — that make it impossible even for Facebook to see the content of the messages.

With the new product, Facebook is now offering a service to its Messenger users that its WhatsApp service already has.

The tool reflects the extent to which the No. 1 social network has become another high-value target of cyber attackers.

"We know our systems are secure because we're being constantly attacked," Facebook's chief security officer, Alex Stamos, told a White House panel on cybersecurity in Berkeley last month.

These new tools also show how the movement of ever-more business onto Internet-based networks has shifted a larger share of protecting the U.S. economy onto the private sector.

The AT&T network, for example, sees 200,000 "malware events" every day.

Threat Intellect uses its machine learning analysis to free up human network security officers to identify and deal with the most serious threats.

The company has been testing the product's ability to protect AT&T's own network and is now rolling it out commercially, Porter says.

"We want to share the scale and breadth of our capabilities with our customers... and help elevate the security of our economy," he says.

John Shinal has covered tech and financial markets for more than 15 years at Bloomberg, BusinessWeek,The San Francisco Chronicle, Dow Jones MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal Digital Network and others. Follow him on Twitter: @johnshinal.