Clearswift

Clearswift Limited

Adaptive Cyber Protection
Type	Private
Industry	Computer security
Founded	UK (1982)
Headquarters	Theale, Berkshire, UK
Area served	Worldwide
Products	SECURE Email Gateway, SECURE Web Gateway, SECURE File Gateway, SECURE ICAP Gateway, SECURE Exchange Gateway, MIMEsweeper
Services	Product support, Security consulting
Revenue	£20.8m (2012)[1]
Owner	Lyceum Capital
Number of employees	230 (2004)[2]
Website	http://www.clearswift.com/

Clearswift is an information security company. Clearswift operates out of offices in Europe, Australia, Japan and the United States. Clearswift has a partner network of more than 900 resellers across the globe.

Products

SECURE Email Gateway

The replacement product for MIMEsweeper. It provides a much simplified user interface and operations management. Includes Linux OS, anti-virus, anti-malware, data loss prevention (DLP) and much improved spam detection and reporting in a single deliverable. It can be deployed on virtual environments, own hardware, or purchased as an appliance.

SECURE Web Gateway

New product built on MIMEsweeper platform but with much simplified user interface and operations management. Gateway includes, Linux OS, AV, Anti Malware etc. and Reporting all in a single deliverable. Can be deployed on virtual environments, own hardware or purchased as an appliance.

SECURE File Gateway

The SECURE File Gateway uses the same core technology as in the other gateways. It is designed to be used within organizations for securely transferring files from one network segment to another. It includes Linux OS, anti-virus, DLP and reporting in a single deliverable. Can be deployed on virtual environments, own hardware, or purchased as an appliance. A version of the SECURE File Gateway is OEM’d and sold by BAE.

SECURE ICAP Gateway

The SECURE ICAP Gateway is a variant of the SECURE Web Gateway which is designed to work with the ICAP interface. Specifically with Blue Coat devices. It brings the Clearswift Deep Content Inspection and DLP functionality to the Blue Coat proxy. It can be deployed on virtual environments, own hardware, or purchased as an appliance.

SECURE Exchange Gateway

The SECURE Exchange Gateway is a variant of the SECURE Email Gateway. It has an additional Interceptor for Microsoft Exchange which enables all internal email traffic to be subject to the Deep Content Inspection and DLP policies that the other Clearswift gateway products have.

MIMEsweeper

MIMEsweeper was originally a mail filtering product of Content Technologies.

In April 2005 Clearswift began to market an SMTP appliance based upon the technology.^[3]

Clearswift has extended the MIMEsweeper line to include web and instant messaging filtering. These are marketed as protecting against the leakage of confidential company information on social networking sites - Clearswift argues that instead of banning Web 2.0 sites and services entirely, businesses can actually gain a competitive advantage by making use of them, provided their use is monitored.^[4][5]

Adaptive Redaction

In September 2013 Clearswift introduced some new options for their SECURE Gateways, Adaptive Redaction.^[6] There are three options available.

1. Data redaction: Removal of data (text) from email, web pages and files (including email attachments).
2. Document sanitisation: Removal of ‘hidden’ data, such as that held in document properties and revision history from email, web pages and files (including email attachments).
3. Structural sanitisation: Removal of active content from web pages and files (including email attachments).

Previous Products

Clearswift sold the Deep-secure, Bastion and Flashpoint products in Dec of 2009.^[7]

History

• 1982: Clearswift was originally founded as NET-TEL in 1982.^[8][9] One of the co-founders, John Horton, had previously worked at GEC and Acorn Computers.^[10]

• 1988: In 1988, NET-TEL launched Route400, the world's first mail client for MS-DOS (using the X.400 protocol). It was later ported to other platforms.^[11][12]

• 1998: NET-TEL switched its main business to content filtering in 1998, as the popularity of the Microsoft Exchange Client took away the mail client market.^[12]

• 2001: NET-TEL was rebranded as Clearswift in 2001, after a round of venture capital fundraising.

• 2002: In 2002, Clearswift acquired Content Technologies from Baltimore Technologies, along with the MIMEsweeper brand.^[13]

• 2003: In 2003, the company received $6.07 million from its shareholders, including venture capital funds managed by Amadeus Capital Partners, BA Capital Partners, Cazenove Private Equity, and Kennet Partners.^[14] Also, it was reported that Clearswift were the providers of a new email filtering system at the House of Commons, responsible for blocking Welsh language emails as "inappropriate content", and preventing MPs receiving copies of a Sexual Offences Bill.^[15] Clearswift would not confirm that the House of Commons was a customer, citing customer confidentiality reasons.

• 2008: In January 2008, failure to renew a domain name caused loss of email services to 5% of Clearswift's customers.^[16]

• 2011: In November 2011, Clearswift was acquired by Lyceum Capital ^[17]

• 2013: In August 2013 Clearswift acquired Jedda Systems Pty Ltd^[18] in order to provide endpoint DLP in conjunction with its gateway based network DLP.

References

External links

• http://www.clearswift.com/