American telecoms giant AT&T has joined a global cyber security alliance co-founded by Singtel.

The Global Telco Security Alliance, as it is called, was launched by Singtel, Etisalat, SoftBank and Telefonica last April to help enterprises address cyber security issues.

The addition of AT&T increases the alliance's resources, Singtel said yesterday.

AT&T's capabilities in this area received a recent boost with its acquisition of AlienVault, a cyber security solutions provider founded in Spain and headquartered in the United States.

AT&T Cybersecurity president Barmak Meftah said: "We are thrilled to be the first telco in North America to join the alliance, and to do so as a founding member.

"Hackers have well-established and organised communities that cooperate to produce cyberthreats and it's time large network operators work together to help deliver disruptive innovations and enable our global customers to detect and respond to threats faster and protect their digital footprint."

The alliance now has more than 6,000 security experts and over 28 security operation centres.