23 February 2006     

Telecom Italia Sparkle and Cisco Systems join forces to build S@fe a wholesale solution to help prevent denial of service attacks .

Telecom Italia Sparkle (TI Sparkle) and Cisco Systems®, Inc. (Cisco) are jointly announcing the roll-out of S@FE, a network-based solution for international wholesale customers of the TI Sparkle IP backbone (SEABONE). S@fe is designed to provide more effective protection against Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

DoS/DDoS attacks have now evolved from random hacker exploits to coordinated operations by criminal organizations to blackmail and extort money from corporate victims. DDoS attacks are the second-most costly security incident overall for organizations. (Source: CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey, 2004).

S@FE is the result of close cooperation between experts from TI Sparkle and Cisco to counter the growing cyber-crime threat faced by TIS clients. Unlike other DDoS protection solutions, S@FE is designed to help SEABONE customers to maintain full operational efficiency during a concerted DoS/DDoS attack.

Stefano Mazzitelli, CEO of TI Sparkle, and Claudio Bassoli, Managing Director at Cisco Systems for Telecom Italia, have both openly expressed their commitment to satisfying the ever increasing need of wholesale customers to effectively protect their IP services and end clients:
“S@FE represents a state-of-the art solution for ISPs seeking to protect their customers against high-tech cyber criminals. We have achieved this goal thanks to an effective and close cooperation with an industry leader such as Cisco” said Stefano Mazzitelli.

“Security is an integral part of Cisco’s strategy and technology. The cooperation with TI Sparkle, one of the world’s foremost players in the international IP services market, allowed our team to develop a state-of-the-art solution that is currently unrivalled in the wholesale market”, commented Claudio Bassoli. “Cisco’s contribution to the Intelligent Information Network with end-to-end network security, from the desktop to the core network, is helping the industry to realize the Self-Defending Network.”
S@FE is currently under trial phase with selected wholesale customers, and is scheduled to be commercialised by TI Sparkle during the first quarter of 2006.

About Telecom Italia Sparkle
Telecom Italia Sparkle, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telecom Italia SpA, was established in 2003 with the objective of developing and consolidating the Italian Group’s international wholesale and retail business.
TI Sparkle is a full service provider, offering a complete range of solutions spanning voice services, IP, bandwidth and managed data services for fixed-line and mobile operators, ISPs and, in synergy with Telecom Italia, for multinational corporations.
For further information please visit: www.telecomitaliasparkle.com

About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, this year celebrates 20 years of commitment to technology innovation, industry leadership and corporate social responsibility.
Information on Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com
For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com
Cisco equipment in Europe is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.