F-Secure and Sonera Zed to Collaborate on Mobile Communications Security
Espoo, March 22, 2001 – F-Secure Corporation [HEX: FSC] and Sonera Zed Ltd. [HEX: SNRA] today announced a strategic agreement to cooperate in the development, production and licensing of security solutions for value added mobile communication services. Under the arrangement, Sonera Zed will offer F-Secure products to existing and prospective zed for business customers as well as test and evaluate F-Secure products and platforms.
The companies will initially focus on content security solutions for wireless infrastructure, starting with the integration of F-Secure Anti-Virus for WAP Gateways into zed’s mobile business services offering.
Sonera Zed Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Finnish telecommunications group Sonera Corporation focusing on offering mobile value added services for both business users and consumers. F-Secure is a leading developer of centrally managed security solutions for the mobile, distributed enterprise. Data security is an important function of Sonera Zed platforms used to develop and produce value added mobile communications services and F-Secure will be the main provider of the needed security components.
Ilkka Starck, Vice President and General Manager, Wireless Security Solutions of F-Secure Corporation said, “Cooperation with service providers is the most effective and efficient way to deliver quality solutions to the exploding wireless market. In order to penetrate this market deeply and quickly, F-Secure wants to partner with the top companies in their markets, and the alliance with Sonera Zed further strengthens our leadership in wireless security. Our experience has shown Sonera Zed to be a great business partner that recognizes the strategic importance of implementing new security features and services.”
Juha H?¤k?¤mies, CTO, zed for business, Sonera Zed Ltd, said: “We have chosen F-Secure as our preferred mobile security provider for the zed business users. Both companies share the same vision of the smart phone turning into a full-bred computer and we do believe that the service provider is in key position in providing a wealth of value added applications for mobile users. As the use of these devices increases, the security threats and vulnerabilities need to be addressed. For us, security will be an inherent part of the systems we provide. Being able to provide services in a secure way will also be one of the key differing factors for a mobile value added provider.”
The F-Secure Anti-Virus for WAP Gateways product not only scans the HTTP content for viruses, but any undesired content can be filtered from the gateway traffic. For example, content from origin servers that are known to be unreliable can be prevented from proliferating onto WAP devices.
When a malware incident occurs, service providers that have installed the protection to their gateways and subscribed the Anti-Virus service before the epidemic receive the antidote automatically, and get the fastest possible protection for their customers.
About zed(TM)
Sonera Zed Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Finnish telecommunications group Sonera Corporation (HEX: SRA, NASDAQ, SNRA, http://www.sonera.com. Established in 1999, the zed(TM) mobile portal provides personalised information, communication and entertainment services. Zed provides services for both consumers and business users. Zed has recently established a new business unit, zed for business, to offer services for business users via WAP phone and the Internet. It provides a company-specific service range, which has been developed to meet the needs of personnel travelling from one place to another. The company’s own applications, such as CRM, and intranet can be integrated in the service. Basic services include e.g. e-mail, calendar, and zed’s value added services targeted for companies.
Zed provides access to lifestyle and information services such as games, dating, movie and restaurant guides, sports information and horoscopes, as well as traffic updates, news, directory services and healthcare. Basic services such as ring tones, icons and e-mail are also available. New services will be developed with local content providers in addition to core content to ensure relevance and topicality for local customers. Zed runs data centres in Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore and the USA. Further information on zed may be found under http://www.zed.com and http://business.zed.com
ABOUT F-SECURE CORPORATION
F-Secure Corporation is a leading provider of centrally managed security for today’s mobile, wireless enterprise. The company offers a full range of award-winning, integrated anti-virus, file encryption, distributed firewall and VPN solutions for workstations, servers, gateways and mobile devices. F-Secure products are uniquely suited for delivery of Security as a Service(TM), which provides invisible, reliable, always-on, and up-to-date security for the most widely distributed user base. Whether provided by corporate IT or delivered by service providers, F-Secure solutions extend policy-based security and instant alerts to all devices where information is created, stored or accessed. Founded in 1988, F-Secure Corporation is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange [HEX: FSC]. The company is headquartered in Espoo, Finland with North American headquarters in San Jose, California, as well as offices worldwide.