Megaport launches built-in DDoS protection for network

Megaport has launched a built-in DDoS protection service for its network, designed to protect traffic on Megaport Internet without sending it to an external mitigation provider.

The service filters malicious traffic within Megaport's own network, aiming to avoid the extra latency and routing changes that can come with third-party scrubbing services. It is intended for data centre environments connected through Megaport's infrastructure.

Distributed denial-of-service attacks remain a persistent problem for companies running internet-facing services, particularly as more workloads move across cloud and hybrid environments. Many conventional mitigation approaches either rely on internet service providers that may shut down affected traffic to contain an attack, or specialist services that reroute traffic through external networks for inspection.

Megaport's approach places the filtering function inside its existing network fabric. According to the company, traffic can stay on its normal path while malicious packets are blocked, rather than being diverted elsewhere for cleaning before reaching customer systems.

How it works

The service sits within Megaport Internet, the company's internet connectivity offering. Customers can add the protection through the Megaport Portal, with deployment taking less than a minute, according to Megaport.

Protection is applied at host or IP level, which the company says allows attacks to be isolated more precisely while other traffic continues to flow. The service focuses on Layer 3 and Layer 4 attacks and includes both passive and active mitigation modes.

It also uses pre-configured protection profiles, reducing the need for customers to tune settings manually. Pricing is tied to connection capacity rather than the volume or frequency of attacks, a structure intended to avoid the variable billing sometimes seen in older mitigation services.

Market context

The launch adds security more directly to Megaport's connectivity business at a time when network operators and cloud infrastructure companies are trying to broaden their role in cyber defence. For customers, one of the main challenges in DDoS protection is balancing service availability with added complexity in routing and operations.

Enterprises with customer-facing applications, payments infrastructure, digital platforms and other time-sensitive systems are particularly exposed to disruption from volumetric attacks. In those cases, even short outages can have immediate financial and reputational effects.

Megaport runs a global software-defined network that links customers to data centres, cloud services and other endpoints. It says it operates in more than 1,100 enabled locations worldwide and works with service providers, data centre operators, systems integrators and managed services firms.

The addition of DDoS protection points to a push to make network access and security part of a single service layer rather than separate purchases managed across different suppliers. That could appeal to customers seeking fewer hand-offs between connectivity and security teams when responding to attacks.

Michael Reid, chief executive officer of Megaport, outlined the company's view of the shift in customer demand.

"Network resilience is now a core infrastructure requirement, not an optional extra," Reid said. "Moving DDoS protection inside the network layer rather than treating it as a bolt-on service eliminates the traditional trade-offs between security, performance, and cost. It takes users less than a minute to deploy Megaport Internet, and its native DDoS protection works to keep digital services available and high-performing regardless of external threats."

The product marks another step in Megaport's effort to expand beyond basic interconnection and into services closer to customers' day-to-day network operations. The launch forms part of a broader move to manage performance and protection together within the same infrastructure layer, according to the company.