Vocus partners with Black Lotus for DDoS protection

ASX-listed data comms provider Vocus Communications has announced a new partnership with a US DDoS mitigation vendor.

A statement from the data centre and dark fibre provider said that network defence specialist Black Lotus Communications will now supply DDoS protection for its network and customers.

"Rather than reinvent the wheel I see Black Lotus as the perfect partner to provide our ongoing mitigation capability," said Luke MacKinnon, COO of Vocus Communications.

"We are seeing a phenomenal increase in DDoS attacks aimed at our customers and our own network, from many vectors," said MacKinnon. "Protecting our network and our customers is our priority, and with Black Lotus we have created an opportunity to provide a cost effective solution to the DDoS problem.

The other side of the deal sees Black Lotus physically enter the Australia and New Zealand market, with the opening of a new regional DDoS "scrubbing" centre in Sydney by 1 December. Vocus will provide "co-location, transport, and transit services" for the Californian vendor's fifth global operations hub.

"With Vocus, we can strategically expand our footprint to provide our local and global customers lower latency and reliable uptime for cost-effective mitigation, ensuring they are online regardless of DDoS attack size or vector," said Arman Khalili, chief executive of Black Lotus.

Vocus stated that it was compelled to "rethink" its DDoS strategy and had recently "invested significantly in DDoS detection infrastructure". This had created an opportunity for Black Lotus to step in.

"DDoS is a complex issue. Sophisticated techniques used in common attacks are always evolving and keeping up with the arms race requires dedication and resources," MacKinnon said.

In February, Black Lotus published one of the first reports on the infamous NTP Reflection attack. Vocus Communications made headlines last month with the $11.7 million purchase of a Perth-area data centre from ASG.