SecureNet and Telstra have launched plans to build an Internet security centre to enable the government and corporate market to outsource security, and to protect the upper end of the market from fraud and other online crimes.
The announcement comes at a time when Internet crime is at the fore of business and government concerns. US ISPs were brought down by distributed denial of service attacks last week, before hackers hit Microsoft.com in the last twenty-four hours, changing its domain name “whois” details to such entries as “MICROSOFT.COM.MUST.STOP.TAKEDRUGS.ORG”.
SecureNet expects its “Trust Centre” to be the first of its kind in Australia, enabling businesses to outsource the task of protecting high priority data from such attacks.
“The traffic we handle is either high value information, or high value transactions, so the majority of our customers are government bodies, such as the health sector, or financial institutions,” said Geoffrey Ross, managing director of the Australian company.
Customers will access the Sydney centre on a user pays basis, with direct connection to Telstra’s IP backbone. Telstra expects to gain significantly from the high volumes of traffic yielded by encrypted transactions.
Telstra’s emerging business executive director Gerry Sutton said the arrangement would enable SecureNet and Telstra to co-market security services to their customers “in both the government and private sectors, especially where the highest levels of trust are required”.
SecureNet has a similar relationship with Telstra partner PCCW in Hong Kong, where its Trust Centre provides services to major financial HSBC, a client of the telco.
SecureNet sees its future in the Asian region, despite being based in Australia. “Takeup has been faster there, especially in countries where a government drive coincides with corporate takeup. The government has been slow to take up e-commerce in Australia, but we expect this to change,” said Ross
Ross sees having offices in Australia and throughout Asia as a key advantage. “The banks, and in fact every Australian business in its right mind, are trying to push into Asia.”
