AT&T has launched one of the first proactive services designed to alert customers that their network might be under attack.

The carrier announced its Internet Protect service, which alerts customers in real-time if their network is being attacked. The carrier’s Security Operating Center team, manned by hundreds of security analysts, notifies users.

With the growing number of threats, users have been looking for tools that are more proactive that let them deal with a worm or denial of service attack before their network goes dark. According to consulting firm Computer Economics, there were 7,064 new viruses, worms and Trojan horses in 2003. 

AT&T has been working on the service for some time and hinted at the offering’s capabilities last year.

The company guarantees that it will proactively alert Internet Protect customers of an attack. If it does not, the customer’s monthly fee for the service is refunded, says Eric Shepcaro, vice president of emerging services at AT&T. The refund will be at least $2,500, the starting monthly price for the offering.

AT&T’s service level agreement has more teeth than the guarantee that competitor MCI rolled out earlier this month. MCI guarantees it will react to a DoS attack within 15 minutes of being notified of the attack by the customer. If it does not, the customer is credited one-day of service. That translates to a $20 credit for a customer that pays $600 per month for a dedicated T-1 line that supports its Internet access traffic. There is also a maximum of one credit per day.

But MCI, or Sprint for that matter, has yet to rollout a proactive service to better defend against such attacks.

AT&T’s Internet Protect is tied in with the carrier’s BusinessDirect Web Portal. This is where IP customers can monitor network performance, issue and track trouble tickets, order circuit tests and pay bills electronically. Internet Protect customers also receive detailed information through the Web portal about traffic spikes, ports and protocols that are affected and security threats throughout the Internet.