EarthLink Acquires xDefenders (EL release)

Enhances National Managed Services Provider Strategy (click to read more)

ATLANTA, GA — September 20, 2011 — EarthLink, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK), a leading IP infrastructure and services company, has completed the acquisition xDefenders, a managed IT security company based in Rochester, NY. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed and are immaterial to EarthLink’s 2011 financial results. xDefenders helps organizations protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of systems, networks and information assets by focusing on vulnerability assessments and security audits, secure and archived email, and managed internet security.

The acquisition adds important components to EarthLink’s IT security platform. xDefenders broadens EarthLink’s security capabilities and provides a backup Security Operations Center (SOC) in Rochester, NY from its primary SOC in Columbia, SC.

xDefenders will become part of EarthLink’s managed services business under the leadership of Brian Fink, EarthLink Executive Vice President of Managed Services. “IT security is a key component of our network and managed IT services product portfolio,” commented Fink. “The people and product expertise xDefenders brings extend our capabilities in this area and provides more scale as we roll-out security products nationwide.”

xDefenders Vice President of Business Development Jeff Thon and Vice President of Technical Operations Thomas Bullinger will both join the leadership of EarthLink’s managed services business. “By combining with EarthLink, we have the ability to significantly extend our ‘secure cloud’ managed service offerings through EarthLink’s sales channels and large base of business customers. In addition, existing xDefenders customers can now leverage EarthLink’s network services and Enterprise Class data centers. We look forward to being part of this profitable, growing company.”

About EarthLink
EarthLink, Inc (NASDAQ: ELNK) is a leading provider of Internet Protocol (IP) infrastructure and services to medium-sized and large businesses, enterprise customers, and over 1.6 million customer relationships across the United States. The company has provided Internet access and communications services for decades and has earned an award-winning reputation for both outstanding customer service and product innovation. Its EarthLink Business™ division provides a full complement of voice, data, mobile, cloud hosting and equipment services over a 28,000 mile fiber network and MPLS-based services nationwide. EarthLink Consumer is a leading Internet Service Provider connecting people to the power and possibilities of the Internet. For more information, visit EarthLink's website www.earthlink.net