Web 2.0 Featured Article

FaceTime Licenses Web 2.0 Virus Detection Engine from Sophos

By Anuradha Shukla, TMCnet Contributor

FaceTime Communications has reportedly licensed a Web 2.0 virus detection engine from IT security and data protection firm Sophos.  

 

Under the agreement, Sophos’s anti-virus technology has been integrated with FaceTime’s (News - Alert) Unified Security Gateway 3.0. The integration with the first secure Web gateway will uniquely combine the content monitoring, management and securing of Web 2.0 applications, such as social networks, instant messaging and unified communications with URL filtering, malware and Web anti-virus protection.

 

FaceTime’s USG 3.0 gives granular control of Web sites, applications and of the content being posted to blogs, wikis, Webmail and social networking sites. Because content can be monitored, secured and recorded, it reduces outbound data leakage. These features also allow companies to comply with industry regulations and legal discovery requirements.  

 

Sophos’s proactive detection technology filters all Web 2.0 traffic and stops viruses at the USG gateway. This technology offers an extra layer of protection for FaceTime’s Unified Security Gateway (News - Alert) 3.0 customers. Virus updates are also automatically delivered via the same engine, which means all customers are protected against the latest threats.

 

Nishant Jadhav, director, business development, said that Web 2.0 applications are increasingly being used for enterprise networks. IT managers are challenged by the proliferation of viruses and malware propagated through the Internet and popular social media sites also presents a huge security concern for these professionals.

 

Jadhav said he is pleased with the licensing of Web 2.0 anti-virus solution, which means addition of HTTP/HTTPS antivirus support to their URL filtering, anti-malware, content monitoring, scanning, and recording for Web traffic and applications such as instant messaging, unified communications, and social networks.

 

Michael Rogers, vice president of Global Alliances and OEM at Sophos referred to a July 2009 Sophos Security Threat Report. According to the report, SophosLabs detected 23,500 new infected Web pages for the first six months of 2009.

 

These figures show how important it is to ensure safe Web browsing, which includes virus and other malware protection.

 

“We are pleased that FaceTime’s Unified Security Gateway 3.0 customers will now benefit from Sophos’s proactive anti-virus detection technology,” Rogers said in a statement.

Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Anuradha’s article, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Amy Tierney