Vendors Buy in For Consumer, Corporate Protection

EMC Corporation  today said it has purchased authentication software maker Verid, one of several moves security providers timed for the kick off of the Gartner IT Securoty Summit 2007 in Washington, D.C. today.

Acquired for a private sum, Verid brings software to EMC’s RSA security company that helps financial institutions, telecom providers and retailers verify the identification of their customers.

RSA said in a statement the buy will add a new layer of protection to the 100 million online financial services user accounts under contract with RSA around the world.

RSA already offers ongoing authentication; Verid verifies users when an account is opened to determine the trust that can be applied to an identity and its account.

Verifying identity of customers conducting transactions over the Internet has been a major challenge for companies looking to leverage the Web for new revenue streams. In the past few years, fraudulent purchases made via identity theft or some trickery has cost corporations billions of dollars.

The rising online fraud instances have spurred security infrastructure providers to build or acquire technologies to supply their enterprise customers’ demands for identity management technologies. EMC’s buy of Verid continues the trend.

In other security news for the Gartner show today, McAfee Inc. said it is upping its investment in mid-sized customers by building out its sales force and retooling its products for companies with 100 to 1000 users.

To date, McAfee has addressed the IT security needs of high-end enterprises and small businesses.

But in 2007, McAfee has developed a mid-market group of more than 150 people and new telemarketing teams to help channel partners in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

McAfee  today also unveiled the Secure Internet Gateway 3000, a new e-mail and Web security appliance that protects up to 200 users from spam, viruses and spyware.

McAfee estimates the security market potential for mid-sized business is worth some $4.3 billion.

Finally, digital signature and domain registrar VeriSign  joined the wireless security service party with the VeriSign Wireless Intrusion Prevention Service (IPS).

The service, created in conjunction with AirMagnet, is designed to safeguard corporate wireless networks from theft and other security threats.

Mike Denning, vice president of security services for VeriSign, told internetnews.com the service is designed to accommodate the proliferation of workers tapping into corporate networks from remote locations.

Denning said AirMagnet’s LAN monitoring and analysis technology adds the ability to protect wireless access points while VeriSign’s existing Teraguard technologies continue to shore up wired networks.

The combination, he said, should help protect against such security breaches as the TJ Maxx episode, in which the corporate database was accessed via a wireless access point.

The service, which will compete with offerings from IBM  and Symantec , is the latest offering from VeriSign’s Managed Security Service, a part of the VeriSign Layered Security Services Solution for securing business interactions on the Web.