ScanSafe

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ScanSafe
Type Private
Founded 1999 [1]
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Key people Eldar Tuvey, Roy Tuvey
Industry Information security
Products Anti-virus, Anti-spyware, Web filtering, Messaging
Employees 100 [1]
Website www.scansafe.com

ScanSafe, a privately held company backed by investors Benchmark Capital and Scale Venture Partners[2], is a provider of Web security-as-a-service for organizations. Co-founded in 1999 by brothers Eldar and Roy Tuvey[3], its services block malware and secure the use of the Web and messaging. Noted as being the first to successfully deliver a Secure Web Gateway service, the company competes with similar services offered by MessageLabs and Websense.[1]

ScanSafe has offices in London, England and San Mateo, California and maintains alliance partnerships with Google, AT&T, Integralis, Kaspersky, Telus, NEC, SoftScan, TopNordic, Viatel, Ancoris, and FVC.[4]

MessageLabs, a provider of Messaging services ended a strategic partnership between the two companies in 2006. MessageLabs introduced a competing in-house product titled Web Security Service Version 2, resulting in a court judgment which required MessageLabs notify all prospective clients that the Version 2 service is not based on previous ScanSafe technology.[5]

In 2007 ScanSafe was named one of the top 100 techology startups in the world by Red Herring[6], awarded Best Software as a Service (SaaS) Solution by the Codie awards[7] and won Best Content Security Solution in consecutive years (2007, 2008) as voted by SC Magazine readers.[8] A 2007 report by Gartner identified ScanSafe as a visionary in the Secure Web Gateway (SWG) market, acknowledging innovative new services and a significant install base but noted limited reporting capabilities in comparison to other providers and having to operate in an increasingly competitive market.[9]

In November 2007 a malware outbreak on the Indiatimes website was reported by ScanSafe. Whilst the website wasn't the only victim, the attack was notable due to the popularity of the website and in the number of vulnerabilities the malware attempted to exploit.[10] Alexa regularly ranks Indiatimes as one of the top 250 most visited websites.[11]

[edit] Scandoo

Scandoo Logo
Scandoo Logo

Launched in 2006, Scandoo is a free service offered by ScanSafe that provides advanced warning for security risks and offensive content in search engine results.[12] Similar in operation to SiteAdvisor and TrustWatch, ScanSafe annotates Google Search results performed from the Scandoo homepage.[13] Support for Yahoo! Search and Live Search was dropped in 2008.

Results are analyzed in real-time and websites deemed safe are annotated with a green icon whilst potential risks are annotated with a bug. Websites that can't be classified are annotated with a yellow icon. Based on an individuals Scandoo security preferences, websites classified under selected categories can be annotated with a red icon.[14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c ScanSafe's business brotherhood. Alison R.G. van Diggelen. Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
  2. ^ ScanSafe Investors. ScanSafe. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
  3. ^ Interview: Eldar Tuvey. SC Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  4. ^ ScanSafe Alliance Partners. ScanSafe. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  5. ^ ScanSafe forces MessageLabs to clarify sales pitches. Out-Law. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  6. ^ Red Herring Global 100. Red Herring. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  7. ^ Finalist Showcase - The 22nd Annual SIIA Codie Awards. Software & Information Industry Association. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  8. ^ SCANSAFE WINS SC MAGAZINE 2008 AWARD FOR BEST CONTENT SECURITY. SourceWire. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  9. ^ Magic Quadrant for Secure Web Gateway, 2007. Gartner. Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
  10. ^ IndiaTimes.com Visitors Risk High Exposure To Malware. InformationWeek. Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
  11. ^ Indiatimes.com Traffic Rank. Alexa. Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
  12. ^ About Scandoo. ScanSafe. Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
  13. ^ Seeking a Safer Internet. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
  14. ^ ScanSafe tackles unsafe search. ZDNet. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.

[edit] Further reading

  • Moe, Michael (2006) Finding the Next Starbucks: How to Identify and Invest in the Hot Stocks of Tomorrow, USA : Penguin Group, ISBN-13: 9781591841340