Overview
Executive Overview
Link11 is a leading European IT security provider specializing in the protection of high-performance infrastructures and web applications against cyberattacks. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, the company has established itself as a premier specialist in the DDoS mitigation and cloud security space. Link11’s core mission is to safeguard the digital business processes of its clients through a robust, automated security platform that operates independently of human intervention.
The company’s product portfolio is centered around its Cloud Security Platform, which includes AI-driven DDoS protection, Web Application Firewalls (WAF), Bot Management, and Secure DNS services. By leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning, Link11 provides a proactive defense mechanism capable of identifying and mitigating complex, multi-vector attacks in real-time. This focus on automation is a direct response to the increasing speed and sophistication of modern cyber threats, which often outpace traditional manual security protocols.
Link11 serves a diverse range of industries, with a particular stronghold in the financial services, e-commerce, media, and public sectors. Their target audience consists of large-scale enterprises and organizations for whom digital uptime is mission-critical. Over the years, Link11 has expanded its global footprint, establishing a network of scrubbing centers across Europe, North America, and Asia to provide low-latency protection to a worldwide customer base. As a recipient of numerous industry awards and certifications, including recognition from analysts like Gartner and Frost & Sullivan, Link11 is positioned as a sophisticated, reliable alternative to larger, generalist cloud providers.
Company Differentiation
Link11 distinguishes itself through a "security by design" philosophy that prioritizes total automation over human intervention. While many security firms rely on Security Operations Centers (SOCs) where analysts manually intervene during an attack, Link11’s business model is built on the belief that modern, multi-vector DDoS attacks move too fast for human reaction times. This commitment to automation is reflected in their corporate culture, which emphasizes engineering excellence and proactive innovation.
Based in Germany, the company operates under some of the world’s strictest data privacy regulations (GDPR), giving them a unique cultural and legal advantage when serving highly regulated industries like finance, government, and critical infrastructure. Their approach to customer success is characterized by a "silent guardian" mentality; they aim to provide a seamless experience where security is invisible but impenetrable. Unlike larger, diversified tech conglomerates, Link11 remains a specialized powerhouse, allowing them to be more agile in adapting to new threat patterns and maintaining a close, consultative relationship with their enterprise clients. This focus on specialized expertise rather than a "jack-of-all-trades" approach sets them apart as a premium, high-reliability partner.
Company Demographics
Product Offerings
Link11 provides a modular suite of security services:
- Link11 Web Protection: A comprehensive Layer 7 defense suite including DDoS protection, WAF, Bot Management, and API protection. Best for protecting websites and web apps.
- Link11 Infrastructure Protection: Layer 3 and 4 protection for entire networks and data centers. Utilizes BGP or GRE tunneling to shield all IP-based services (Email, VoIP, VPN).
- Link11 Secure DNS: A resilient, global DNS service that prevents DNS hijacking and DDoS attacks on the naming layer.
- Link11 Intelligence Reports: In-depth threat landscape analysis and customized reporting for organizations requiring high-level strategic threat intelligence.
Product Differentiation
The core differentiator of Link11’s product suite is its proprietary AI-powered DDoS protection, which functions in real-time without the latency typical of manual filtering. Most competitors utilize a "threshold-based" approach that triggers mitigation only after an attack is detected; Link11, conversely, uses sophisticated machine learning to establish a baseline of "normal" traffic, allowing it to identify and neutralize zero-day attacks and micro-bursts that often bypass traditional defenses.
Key technical advantages include:
- **Zero-Touch Mitigation:** The system is designed to detect and block attacks fully automatically, reducing the Mean Time to Mitigate (MTTM) to seconds.
- **Global Scrubbing Network:** Link11 operates a high-capacity, resilient network of scrubbing centers distributed globally, ensuring that malicious traffic is filtered close to the source.
- **360-Degree Protection:** Beyond DDoS, their platform integrates Web Application Firewall (WAF), Bot Management, and Secure DNS into a unified dashboard, providing a holistic security layer.
- **Performance Optimization:** Unlike security solutions that add significant overhead, Link11’s architecture is optimized for low latency, ensuring that security measures do not degrade the user experience.
The innovation in their "Shield" technology allows for the detection of complex Layer 7 attacks that mimic human behavior, a feat that sets them apart from vendors who focus primarily on high-volume Layer 3 and 4 volumetric attacks.
