7 6 AT&T network increased 250,000% in the decade since 2007. The AT&T global network carries more than 206 petabytes of data traffic on an average day. Few people beyond particle-colliding physicists see the amount of data that crosses the AT&T global network. “There was a time when provider networks were hardware centric,” Singer says. “We knew that had to change. We had purpose-built routers that were the size of refrigerators and we deployed them in 200 countries around the world. They had to be physically maintained and updated. Today, the network is breaking free of hardware.” Virtualization is replacing a custom- built hardware device with software running on a standard platform. It’s turning routers, switches and other network gear into virtual network functions. What that means is you no longer buy a piece of equipment for every function or application each agency needs. “Now when changes are required, we can manage that software centrally and push it out in near real time,” Singer says. Software-defined networks are more agile, more affordable and more efficient. “Using software and a much smaller team of people, we can control, optimize, help to secure and utilize that network remotely—but still in a classified environment and at a lower overall cost,” she says. It can also be highly secure. Leveraging a global network leader means accessing its defensive expertise. “We see 90 billion probes for potential vulnerabilities across our global IP network every day,” Singer says. “An individual can’t examine that, it wouldn’t be possible. We built a Big Data analytics tool that handles extensive automated analysis. Because we’re looking at all this data, we often see attacks before they happen—we get early indicators that only a global carrier would have.” This is especially true of botnets employed in distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks. “We bring that same intelligence to your network when we manage it as a service,” Singer says. Networks will only get more complex. The growth of wireless networks and employee demands for ubiquitous connectivity continues to challenge technologists, as they seek to balance its benefits and conveniences with the IC’s unique security requirements. LEADING THE FUTURE “As a network services provider, we bring those technologies to the table, as soon as they exist. We’re not just discovering the next technology on a shelf— we’re inventing it.”