Security: Q&A: ScanAlert’s Ken Leonard

Computer security outfit's CEO discusses benefits of certifying web sites as ‘Hacker Safe’ via method developed by his firm.
By Priya Ganapati
September 30, 2005

As ScanAlert has discovered, being based in the wine country of Napa, California, has its perks, especially when there’s reason to celebrate. In September, the web site security company’s CEO Ken Leonard got his chance to uncork a favorite bottle of cabernet. Fittingly, the bottle carried a label marked “Hacker Safe,” which resembled the company’s certificate awarded to clients with secure web sites and networks.

The occasion marked ScanAlert inking one of its biggest deals ever. The three-year-old company is partnering with Visa International to offer its scanning service to all of the payment processing giant’s merchants in the Asia-Pacific region.

Under the deal, ScanAlert on a quarterly basis will check for security vulnerabilities on the web sites and networks of merchants in the region who handle Visa cardholder data. About 1,000 merchants are expected to be covered in the first year of the deal.

Launched in 2002, ScanAlert’s scanning process assesses the security of a web site and the network supporting it by looking for vulnerabilities and gaps. In the absence of any, it certifies the site as ‘Hacker Safe,’ a tag that web sites hang on their front doors.

The label can cut both ways. While it increases consumer confidence in the web site, critics have said that a ‘Hacker Safe’ emblem could infuriate some hackers and serve as an invitation to attack.

So far, that hasn’t happened, said Mr. Leonard. None of the more than 65,000 web sites that carry the certification today have experienced any attacks. The process is gaining momentum, as evidenced by the Visa deal, he said.

More at Red Herring Online

Security: Symantec Wins Piracy Case

The security software company wins more than $1 million in restitution.
By Priya Ganapati
September 28, 2005

Symantec, maker of the popular Norton antivirus software, said Wednesday that it won more than $1 million in restitution in a case of software piracy, one of the largest amounts ever awarded to the company in a criminal case.

Li Chen, a Houston-based wholesale distributor of software products, agreed to pay the amount as part of a plea bargain in which he entered a guilty plea to one count of trademark infringement. Mr. Li was accused of distributing counterfeit versions of Symantec’s Norton Antivirus software and other popular security-related applications.

“He was a tier-1 distributor, moving millions of dollars worth of our products every year,” said William Baird, Symantec’s Global Investigations manager. “We had been watching him for nearly two and a half years before we could gather all the evidence needed to move against him.”

More at Red Herring Online

Microsoft, IFC Back Chinasoft

The duo will invest up to $35 million in Chinasoft International.
By Priya Ganapati
September 27, 2005

Microsoft and International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private-sector arm, said Tuesday they will invest up to $35 million in Chinasoft International, a publicly traded IT company specializing in outsourcing and e-governance services.

The Redmond-based software giant will invest up to $20 million and IFC is expected to pump in $15 million. The investment is intended to help Chinasoft develop its existing business and accelerate its expansion in the international market, the company said.

Microsoft and Chinasoft also inaugurated a jointly built Online Lab that will conduct software outsourcing R&D and testing. The lab will try to enhance Chinasoft’s capabilities to undertake software outsourcing projects and its R&D services capabilities.

Chinasoft is a publicly traded company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

More at Red Herring Online

Security: FBI Gets Tough on Cyber-Crime

Fed’s cyber-squad, Silicon Valley defense contractors meet in cyber-crime crackdown.
By Priya Ganapati
September 26, 2005

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation plans to meet with small- and medium-sized defense contractors in Silicon Valley to increase awareness about security risks to their IT infrastructure and encourage cooperation with law enforcement in the event of an IT break-in, the Bureau’s San Francisco-based agents said Monday.

The move represents the FBI’s efforts to reverse the decline in the number of computer intrusions that are reported to law enforcement, despite the increase in the number of cyber crime attacks. When it begins sometime in November, the outreach program will be the first time the FBI has set out to work on crime-fighting with a specific sector in the Valley.

With the program, the FBI plans to have its special agents personally visit companies and give presentations emphasizing the importance of creating secure networks and reporting security intrusions to law enforcement agencies.

More at Red Herring Online

Security: Symantec Buys WholeSecurity

The makers of the popular Norton antivirus software add yet another security start-up to its portfolio.
By Priya Ganapati
September 22, 2005

Symantec made its second acquisition in two months Thursday with the buyout of WholeSecurity, a startup that offers an anti-phishing tool and a behavior-based analysis of security threats to block them as they occur.

Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close next month, weren’t disclosed. The companies announced the sale after the stock market closed, but Symantec’s stock fell $0.10 to $21.09 in after-hours trading. Prior to the announcement, Symantec shares fell $0.13 to $21.19.

WholeSecurity was founded in 2000 and has 80 employees. The company said it has over 100 customers for its products but declined to reveal its revenue. WholeSecurity had received $20 million in funding over two rounds from venture capitalists, New Enterprise Associates, Venrock Associates, Trellis Partners, and Parker Price Venture Capital.

More at Red Herring Online

Microsoft: Redmond Reorg Skirts Problems

Microsoft’s restructuring fails to win the approval of analysts, who say it won’t solve the software giant's problems.
By Priya Ganapati
September 21, 2005

Microsoft’s reorganization of its business fails to tackle the bureaucracy and lack of agility that has plagued the software giant in recent years and is unlikely to revive the company’s comatose stock, analysts said Wednesday.

The restructuring will, however, put the focus on online services, shifting the company’s attention from desktops and better positioning it to take on rival Google, its strongest competitor since Redmond trounced Netscape during the browser wars of the mid-1990s.

Microsoft created three super groups in Tuesday’s reshuffling: Platform and Products Services, led by Jim Allchin and Kevin Johnson; Business Division, led by Jeff Raikes; and Entertainment & Devices, led by Robbie Bach. These three groups overlook the seven divisions within the company.

Although Microsoft said the realignment will “speed up execution,” analysts said that it adds another layer of bureaucracy.

“It seems like they are moving deck chairs around on the Titanic,” said Peter Cohan, founder of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. “When I saw the announcement, it sounded like some large bureaucratic organization hiring McKinsey to move boxes around.”

More at Red Herring Online

Internet: Opera Browser Is Now Free

To increase market share, the underdog browser company offers Opera for free.
By Priya Ganapati
September 20, 2005

Ten years after it launched the first version of its browser, Norwegian software company Opera Software said Tuesday it will start giving away its underdog browser Opera for free as it seeks to catch up with its nearest rival Firefox and capture greater market share.

The move means that Opera, which has a relatively small but fiercely loyal fan base, will remove the ads from the basic version of its browser and will no longer charge a licensing fee for the premium ad-free version.

“The idea is to get a lot more users than we have currently,” said Opera CEO Jon S. von Tetzchner. “Removing the ad banner and licensing fee will encourage many new users to discover the Opera browser.”

More at Red Herring Online

Microsoft Files 8 Piracy Suits

The software giant sues eight alleged software pirates across the U.S.
By Priya Ganapati
September 19, 2005

Microsoft said Monday that it has filed lawsuits against eight software resellers for allegedly distributing pirated copies of its popular consumer and enterprise software products like Windows XP, Office 2000, Microsoft SQL Server, and FrontPage.

The lawsuits were filed over the past two weeks against companies in Arizona, California, Minnesota, and New York.

The Redmond-based software giant said it considers legal action against alleged software pirates to be a last but “effective” resort, and files lawsuits only after efforts to warn the alleged pirates do not succeed.

“Microsoft does not take legal action lightly,” said Mary Jo Schrade, a senior attorney at Microsoft. “Our customers want to know if they’ve received the product they paid for and our legal initiatives are based on leads from customers and Microsoft’s own investigation.”

More at Red Herring Online