GSA blesses AT&T's trusted Internet offering

AT&T Government Solutions has gotten the General Services Administration’s official blessing to start delivering Managed Trusted IP Services (MTIPS) to federal agencies through GSA’s Networx telecommunications acquisition.

Four of the five Networx vendors -- Level 3 Communications declined to participate -- have for months had MTIPS solutions that meet Homeland Security Department requirements to operate as a Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) access provider and comply with the Office of Management and Budget’s TIC requirements.

AT&T is the first of the four Networx vendors that offer MTIPS to get GSA’s authority to operate (ATO) and start delivering MTIPS. The company has previously announced MTIPS task orders with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Trade Commission.

The ATO also marks a milestone in the federal government’s move toward cloud computing.

“AT&T’s cloud-based approach to cybersecurity is the foundation for MTIPS,” said Ed Amoroso, AT&T’s chief security officer. “We use the cloud to proactively detect and diffuse security threats at the ‘street corner’ as opposed to the ‘front door’ of a federal agency – thereby minimizing the risk of a cyberattack.”

Through Networx MTIPS or a federal agency certified as a TIC access provider, agencies connect to the Internet via secure IP portals.

An MTIPS implementation typically includes services for intrusion detection and protection, firewall management, antivirus and e-mail message scanning, hosted at diverse, secure facilities. Through Networx, agencies can add other security services, such as incident response, vulnerability scanning and managed e-authentication.

ATOs for Qwest, Sprint and Verizon are expected to follow in the coming months.