AT&T
T]

AT&T and ServiceNow Announce Global Telco Solution

Friday, March 24, 2023

DALLAS & SANTA CLARA, Calif.: AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) today announced a global telecom product to help communications service providers (CSPs) manage 5G and fiber network inventory. AT&T provided strategic design and technical guidance for the development of the ServiceNow Telecom Network Inventory, which is built on the ServiceNow Platform and available for telcos globally today.

The current approach to managing network inventory is complex and challenging. CSPs need a consolidated view of their networks and a consistent workflow to connect and action on data. Telecom Network Inventory helps to address these needs by providing a single platform that connects systems to maximize network investments, manage orders, improve customer service experiences, and enable business agility. AT&T plans to deploy the platform soon.

“Working with ServiceNow to develop Telecom Network Inventory was a great collaboration to create a tool that could help us address an industry-wide challenge,” said Jon Summers, senior vice president of information technology and chief information officer, AT&T. “As we approach our internal deployment, we also look forward to seeing how other operators around the globe might take advantage of it.”

AT&T will provide ongoing strategic guidance as ServiceNow enhances Telecom Network Inventory, helping ensure the product provides modern, industry-leading solutions for the complex network needs of the telecom industry.

“ServiceNow is committed to delivering products that are purpose-built for the telecom industry,” said Rohit Batra, vice president and head of telecommunications, media, and technology products at ServiceNow. “Together, ServiceNow and AT&T will work to redefine network inventory, and we will continue to innovate to address the challenges communications service providers face now and in the future. This is only the beginning.”

For AT&T, consolidating hardware and software equipment and services onto a single platform is critical as its networks grow. AT&T plans to use Telecom Network Inventory with a goal of gaining better insight into its network operations and issue resolution.

"ServiceNow brings its process-centric approach to network inventory that has often been missing or fragmented before," said Francis Haysom, principal analyst, Appledore Research. "With Telecom Network Inventory, operators have an opportunity to better support end-to-end network automation and increasingly dynamic and valuable network services."

Use of Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” about the expectations, beliefs, plans, and intentions relating to a new telco product developed in a collaboration between ServiceNow and AT&T. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding expected investments and performance and benefits of forming this new collaboration. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, ServiceNow’s results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements made. ServiceNow undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to update the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements include: (i) delays and unexpected difficulties and expenses in executing the collaboration or delivering the product and (ii) uncertainty as to whether sales of the product will justify the collaboration or investments in the product. Further information on factors that could affect ServiceNow’s financial and other results is included in the filings ServiceNow makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

AT&T Expands 5G and Fiber to Connect Rural, Urban and Tribal Communities Nationwide

Thursday, March 30, 2023

DALLAS,

What's the news? From Fiber to 5G, AT&T* has hit significant network milestones that are aggressively expanding coverage, increasing capacity and strengthening network resiliency. Over the past 5 years (2018–2022), AT&T invested more than $140 billion primarily in our U.S. wireless and wireline networks, including capital investments and acquisitions of wireless spectrum.1 It's helping us open the door to a world of possibility for people and businesses across the AT&T network and helping first responders save lives with mission-critical connectivity on the FirstNet® network. See how we're doing it:

Setting the bar for network resiliency: We're focused on becoming the best, biggest and most resilient network in America. Last year, we led the industry by establishing a 3rd "emergency" pathway to each mobility network hub (MTSO) to combat extreme weather and climate events as well as increasing instabilities in the commercial power infrastructure landscape. Thanks to this initiative, we've reduced the likelihood of major outages by nearly 35%. And we're undergoing the largest refresh of our power backup systems in the history of our network – investing millions of dollars in generators, batteries and systems to help keep our network up and running when there is a local power outage. In addition, using network digital twin, we're able to simplify processes, model resiliency measures and forecast how to optimize our build. And we've been working with the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory to model future climate impacts through our Climate Change Analysis Tool. These insights are helping us make data-driven decisions for how we prioritize resiliency investments for the future. And when Mother Nature does strike, we're at the ready with one of the largest and most advanced disaster recovery programs of its kind.

Connecting people on the go: We have the best global coverage of any U.S. wireless provider.2 And with the largest wireless network in America,3 we now cover more than 2.91 million square miles. That's an increase of about 100,000 square miles in 2022, or like covering the entire United Kingdom. And we've grown America's Most Reliable 5G Network4 to reach 290 million people in nearly 24,000 cities and towns across the U.S.

We've also increased coverage by more than 40% on federally recognized tribal lands in the last 2 years (2020 – 2022) thanks to public-private partnerships like FirstNet and those created through the American Rescue Plan, as well as our own investment initiatives. This includes places like Cherokee Nation in Kenwood, Oklahoma where people previously had to drive more than 10 miles to get

mobile cell service.

Plus, as of the end of 2022, more than 150 million people could take advantage of our mid-band 5G spectrum – more than double our original end-of-year 2022 target. We also doubled the number of venues and airports with AT&T 5G+ last year to now bring super-fast speeds and increased connectivity to parts of more than 50 cities and nearly 70 venues and airports in the U.S.

Connecting first responders: As America's public safety's communications partner, we're giving more of the public safety community access to their network. FirstNet already covers 99%+ of the U.S. population, covering more first responders than any network5. And now public safety on FirstNet has access to 250,000+ more square miles than competing commercial network offerings. We've also surpassed 99%+ of our Band 14 coverage target with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority), delivering more dedicated connectivity to federal, state, tribal, territorial, urban and rural first responders when they need it.

Building a network for tomorrow: Fiber is our foundation. In fact, we have so much fiber that you could stretch it to the moon and back 3 times. In 2022, we laid more than 60,000 miles of fiber in the U.S. alone. All that fiber helps carry more than 594 petabytes of data traffic on an average day, up 23% year-over-year (or the equivalent of streaming nearly 40 million 2-hour long movies in HD).

And as the nation's largest fiber internet provider,6 we're committed to providing more Americans with access to reliable, high-speed broadband. This is critical as people are consuming roughly 30 times more data in their own homes than on the go with smartphones. Currently, AT&T Fiber is available to more households than any other fiber internet service.6 And we've passed 24 million locations – including 4 million business locations – in 100+ U.S. metros7 – that's on track to pass 30+ million locations by the end of 2025.

As much as we depend on connectivity today, we think this is only the beginning. It's why we're also testing and helping develop innovative, out-of-this-world satellite solutions for remote and challenging geographic locations. This includes our collaboration with AST SpaceMobile on testing the first-of-its-kind space-based cellular broadband network (i.e., voice, text and video) accessible directly by standard mobile phones – helping to one day keep you connected, anywhere.

Ensuring robust security of a containerized environment

Monday, October 30, 2023

The content of this post is solely the responsibility of the author. AT&T does not adopt or endorse any of the views, positions, or information provided by the author in this article.

In rapidly evolving digital landscape, containerized microservices have become the lifeblood of application development and deployment. Resembling miniature virtual machines, these entities enable efficient code execution in any environment, be it an on-premises server, a public cloud, or even a laptop. This paradigm eliminates the criteria of platform compatibility and library dependency from the DevOps equation.

As organizations embrace the benefits of scalability and flexibility offered by containerization, they must also take up the security challenges intrinsic to this software architecture approach. This article highlights key threats to container infrastructure, provides insights into relevant security strategies, and emphasizes the shared responsibility of safeguarding containerized applications within a company.

Understanding the importance of containers for cloud-native applications

Containers play a pivotal role in streamlining and accelerating the development process. Serving as the building blocks of cloud-native applications, they are deeply intertwined with four pillars of software engineering: the DevOps paradigm, CI/CD pipeline, microservice architecture, and frictionless integration with orchestration tools.

Orchestration tools form the backbone of container ecosystems, providing vital functionalities such as load balancing, fault tolerance, centralized management, and seamless system scaling. Orchestration can be realized through diverse approaches, including cloud provider services, self-deployed Kubernetes clusters, container management systems tailored for developers, and container management systems prioritizing user-friendliness.

The container threat landscape

According to recent findings of Sysdig, a company specializing in cloud security, a whopping 87% of container images have high-impact or critical vulnerabilities. While 85% of these flaws have a fix available, they can’t be exploited because the hosting containers aren’t in use. That said, many organizations run into difficulties prioritizing the patches. Rather than harden the protections of the 15% of entities exposed at runtime, security teams waste their time and resources on loopholes that pose no risk.

One way or another, addressing these vulnerabilities requires the fortification of the underlying infrastructure. Apart from configuring orchestration systems properly, it’s crucial to establish a well-thought-out set of access permissions for Docker nodes or Kubernetes. Additionally, the security of containers hinges on the integrity of the images used for their construction.

Guarding containers throughout the product life cycle

A container's journey encompasses three principal stages. The initial phase involves constructing the container and subjecting it to comprehensive functional and load tests. Subsequently, the container is stored in the image registry, awaiting its moment of execution. The third stage, container runtime, occurs when the container is launched and operates as intended.

Early identification of vulnerabilities is vital, and this is where the shift-left security principle plays a role. It encourages an intensified focus on security from the nascent stages of the product life cycle, encompassing the design and requirements gathering phases. By incorporating automated security checks within the CI/CD pipeline, developers can detect security issues early and minimize the chance of security gaps flying under the radar at later stages.

On a separate note, the continuous integration (CI) phase represents a critical juncture in the software development life cycle. Any lapses during this phase can expose organizations to significant security risks. For instance, employing dubious third-party services for testing purposes may inadvertently lead to data leaks from the product base.

Consequently, container security necessitates a comprehensive approach, where each element of the software engineering chain is subject to meticulous scrutiny.

Responsibility of security professionals and developers

Information security professionals have traditionally operated in real-time, resolving issues as they emerge. The adoption of unified application deployment tools such as containers facilitates product testing pre-deployment. This proactive approach revolves around the inspection of containers for malicious code and vulnerable components in advance.

To maximize the effectiveness of this tactic, it’s important to determine who is responsible for safeguarding container infrastructure within an organization. Should this responsibility rest with information security specialists or developers? The answer may not be unequivocal.

In the realm of containers, the principle of "who developed it owns it" often takes precedence. Developers are entrusted with managing the defenses and ensuring the security of their code and applications. Concurrently, a separate information security team formulates security rules and investigates incidents.

Specialists responsible for container security must possess a diverse skill set. The essential proficiencies include understanding the infrastructure, expertise in Linux and Kubernetes, and readiness to adapt to the rapidly evolving container orchestration landscape.

Managing secrets

Containerized microservices communicate with each other and with external systems through secure connections, necessitating the use of secrets like keys and passwords for authentication. Safeguarding this sensitive data in containers is imperative to prevent unauthorized access and data leaks. Kubernetes provides a basic mechanism for secrets management, ensuring that keys and passwords are not stored in plaintext.

Nonetheless, due to the absence of a comprehensive secrets life cycle management system in Kubernetes, some IT teams resort to ad hoc products to address the challenge. These tools streamline the process of adding secrets, supervise the use of keys over time, and enforce restrictions to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data that flows between containers. Although managing secrets can be complex, organizations must prioritize securing such information in containerized environments.

Security tools in container ecosystems

Organizations often grapple with the suitability of traditional security tools, such as data loss prevention (DLP), intrusion detection systems (IDS), and web application firewalls (WAF), for securing containers. Classic next-generation firewalls (NGFW) may turn out less efficient in controlling traffic within virtual cluster networks. However, specialized NGFW tools that operate within clusters can effectively monitor data in transit.

A solution called Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) is a go-to instrument in this arena. The main thing on the plus side of it is a unified approach to safeguarding cloud-based ecosystems. With advanced analytics reflected in a single front-end console, CNAPP provides comprehensive visibility across all clouds, resources, and risk factors. Importantly, it identifies context around risks in a specific runtime environment, which is a foundation for prioritizing the fixes. These features help organizations steer clear of blind spots in their security postures and remediate issues early.

To strike a balance between the use of traditional security solutions and tools focused on protecting virtualized runtime environments, an organization should assess its IT infrastructure to identify which parts of it are on-premises systems and which are cloud-native applications. It’s worth noting that firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems still do a great job securing the perimeter and endpoints, so they definitely belong in the average enterprise’s toolkit.

Going forward

Containers pose numerous benefits, but they also introduce distinct security challenges. By understanding these challenges and addressing them through best practices integrated across the software development life cycle, organizations can establish a resilient and secure container territory.

Mitigating container security risks requires a collaboration between developers and information security specialists. Developers shoulder the responsibility of managing defenses, while the InfoSec team establishes security rules and undertakes incident investigations. By leveraging specialized tools and security products, organizations can effectively manage secrets, monitor container traffic, and take care of vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by threat actors.

To recap, container security is a multifaceted matter that calls for a proactive and collaborative approach. By implementing protective measures at every stage of the container life cycle and nurturing seamless cooperation between teams, organizations can build a sturdy foundation for secure and resilient microservices-based applications.