TDS Telecommunications Corp. uses Alcatel-Lucent’s Kindsight solution to help protect U.S. customers from malicious hacker attacks on home network

Madison, WI/Paris, November 6, 2013 – Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), the leading network technology group, and TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS Telecom), the seventh largest local exchange telephone company in the U.S., today announced that Kindsight security technology is powering TDS’ Hacker Alert service.

The Kindsight Broadband Security solution enables TDS to continuously analyze Internet traffic for threats, inform subscribers and provide directions on how to remove ‘malware’ or other infections on a device.  TDS Hacker is the fastest selling value-added service in the company’s history and already ranks as the second most popular premium service that TDS offers.

With this move, TDS can quickly address the problem of subscribers that lack security protection for their devices, or have insufficient or outdated anti-virus software.  The security service helps consumers avoid getting malware by visiting infected websites, opening infected attachments or files on an USB stick which can lead to embarrassment, general annoyance, even identify theft.

Key Facts:

• TDS Hacker Alert uses Alcatel-Lucent’s Kindsight Broadband Security technology to alert subscribers when devices in their home network are infected by malware and to help them remove the threat.
• In addition to protecting subscribers, TDS is removing unwanted malicious traffic on its network and reducing call volume into its customer support center
• Kindsight Security Labs Malware Quarterly Report found that 10% of home networks and over 0.5% of mobile devices were infected with malware, both increases from the previous quarter.
• Malicious software or “malware” is used by hackers to gain access to devices, steal personal information, generate massive quantities of spam, launch denial of service attacks on business and governments and commit millions of dollars in fraudulent banking and advertising scams.
• The Kindsight Broadband Security solution is key element of The Shift Plan, Alcatel-Lucent’s industrial strategy to become a specialist vendor of IP Networking and Ultra-Broadband Access.

Quotes:

Matt Apps, Manager of Product Management and Development at TDS Telecom, said: “Internet consumers are increasingly becoming the targets of malware attacks. With Hacker Alert, consumers benefit from an always-on, always up-to-date security service that cannot be disabled by hackers. Its popularity speaks volumes about the need fulfilled by launching this unique security solution.”

Brendan Ziolo, Business Development, Alcatel-Lucent Kindsight, said: “Consumers have gotten pretty used to making sure their home computers are running anti-virus software programs, but that is not enough. They need to deploy multiple layers of security to protect against infections that evade detection by anti-virus programs. And now, mobile devices are a new target which consumers leave largely unprotected. The Kindsight Security Solutions can be embedded in both fixed and mobile broadband networks so the consumer can be notified of a threat, regardless of the device, when their personal information is at risk.”

Helpful Links:

Kindsight website

Kindsight Security Labs Malware Quarterly Report

About TDS

TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS®) is the seventh largest local exchange telephone company in the U.S. Headquartered in Madison, Wis. it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (:TDS, news)  For 44 years, the company has been connecting people with high-speed Internet, phone, and TV entertainment services in over a hundred rural, suburban, and metropolitan communities. Today, TDS has nearly 1 million customer connections in service and 2,500 employees. Business customers select from the latest technologies, including: VoIP (managedIP Hosted) phone service, dedicated high-speed Internet and hosted-managed services. Visit tdstelecom.com or tdsbusiness.com for more information.

Customer media contact

DeAnne Boegli, National Communications Manager, TDS Telecommunications  Corp.  deanne.boegli@tdstelecom.com / 608-664-4428