LEVEL 3 ACQUIRES DDOS MITIGATION COMPANY BLACK LOTUS

Jul 1, 2015

Acquisition Enhances Level 3's Security Product Portfolio

BROOMFIELD, Colo., July 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Global telecommunications provider Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT), announced it acquired privately held Black Lotus, a provider of global Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) mitigation services. The acquisition of Black Lotus represents another step in Level 3's continued commitment to provide leading security product capabilities. Level 3 noted the increase in frequency, volume and complexity of DDoS attacks in a recent research report, Safeguarding the Internet: Level 3 Botnet Research Report, substantiating the need to invest in the DDoS market.

New DDoS CapabilitiesThe acquisition of Black Lotus will add additional capabilities to Level 3's existing DDoS service, which launched earlier in the year, including adding extra scrubbing centers. The Level 3 DDoS Mitigation service provides an enhanced network-based detection and mitigation scrubbing solution alongside network routing, rate limiting and IP filtering abilities. Black Lotus adds proxy-based DDoS mitigation services to the portfolio providing additional capabilities for application layer attacks, along with advanced behavioral analytics technology. The application layer is a prime target for DDoS attacks that often impact Web servers and Web hosting providers.

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"At Level 3, we value security and are committed to protecting our customers and our network," said Chris Richter, senior vice president of managed security services at Level 3. "Black Lotus' proxy and behavioral technologies, combined with their experienced team of DDoS experts, perfectly complements Level 3's DDoS mitigation and threat intelligence capabilities. With this acquisition, Level 3 continues its commitment of investing in a comprehensive portfolio of services that enhance the growth, efficiency and security of our customers' operations, helping enterprises combat the cybersecurity challenges they face every day."

Transaction DetailsLevel 3 acquired the outstanding equity of Black Lotus in an all-cash transaction on July 1, 2015. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Level 3 CommunicationsLevel 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) is a Fortune 500 company that provides local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers. Level 3's comprehensive portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area Ethernet services; video and content distribution; data center and cloud-based solutions. Level 3 serves customers in more than 500 markets in over 60 countries across a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities. For more information, please visit www.level3.com or get to know us onTwitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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