Monday, July 26, 2010

Juniper to Acquire SMobile for Mobile Security

Juniper Networks agreed to acquire SMobile Systems, a privately-held developer of smart phone and tablet security solutions, for $70 million in cash.


SMobile's product portfolio protects devices running on Android, Apple iOS, Symbian, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile operating systems from viruses, spyware, identity theft and other threats, while providing parental and enterprise controls. SMobile said its solution combines strong mobile security with a powerful device management console. Enterprises are able to protect mobile users against viruses and malicious attacks while being able to remotely locate and wipe lost devices.


SMobile was founded in 2002, has approximately 35 employees, and is based in Columbus, Ohio. Noted customers include BT, Fortune 15 companies and U.S. government agencies.


Juniper plans to integrate the SMobile technology into Junos Pulse, its software client for enabling ubiquitous connectivity, security and acceleration to smart phones, tablets, netbooks and notebooks.


"Security breaches in today's mobile environment are growing threats that impact everyone," said Mark Bauhaus, executive vice president and general manager, Services Layer Technologies at Juniper Networks. "Juniper already secures the majority of smart phone traffic in the United States, is a global leader in high-end firewalls and the SSL VPN2 market, and enables more than 25 million end users to remotely and securely connect their PCs and smart phones to corporate networks. Integrating SMobile's portfolio into Junos Pulse will provide users with the most comprehensive mobile security solution available on the market."http://www.juniper.nethttp://www.smobilesystems.com/

  • In June 2010, Juniper Networks released its Junos Pulse multi-service network client for mobile networks. The Junos Pulse client allows the IT staff to enforce consistent endpoint security policies across a wide variety of notebooks, netbooks, and smart phones, regardless of whether or not they are corporate owned. It also designed to reduce the number of software agents they support, while greatly limiting the need for end users to directly interact with network connectivity and security software.


    Junos Pulse leverages Juniper's SA Series SSL VPN appliances, Unified Access Control (UAC), and WXC Series Application Acceleration platform. It combines all of these capabilities.


    Juniper also announced the availability of AppTrack software, part of the AppSecure suite of security software that enables application-level visibility and control for its SRX Series Services Gateways across the enterprise.