Ericsson Does Security Deal With Trend Micro

Written by Adam Gosling

Friday, 10 March 2006

A global agreement between Ericsson and Trend Micro will see the antivirus vendor’s Mobile Device Antivirus solution offered to enterprises and mobile operators. There’s no guarantee such a solution will be bundled with Ericsson smartphones from mobile network providers, but the relationship takes us in the right direction. Faced with quickly escalating mobile device threats from Trojans and other malware the increased adoption of smartphones seems likely to become a major headache for large corporates with fleets of mobile devices. Ericsson plans to incorporate the Trend Micro Mobile Security solution as part of its Mobile Data Solutions portfolio. Trend Micro was one of, if not the first antivirus and secrutiy software vendors to respond to the growing adoption of mobile devices and the accompanying threat. This means it has been providing a mobile security solution since 2004. The solution is limited to smartphones running Symbian and Microsoft operating systems, but provides advanced protection against malicious mobile code including SMS spam and mobile viruses. TrendLabs has identified proof-of-concept malicious code impacting today’s mobile devices. Some of the most prominent include SYMBOS_CABIR (a worm that spreads through Bluetooth), SYMBOS_COMWAR (malware that spreads via Bluetooth and MMS), and SYMBOS_PBSTEAL (spyware-like trojan that attempts to steal user information). “Today’s mobile devices are becoming mini-computers, and they are vulnerable to similar types of threats that traditional PCs encounter,” said Ben Guthrie, Trend Micro Australia and New Zealand Marketing Director. “The number of people using hand-held devices in combination with their PC is growing. Organisations and operators should consider security requirements for protecting their users’ devices and the expanding network perimeter. Together, Ericsson and Trend Micro offer a robust solution to defend against the evolving malware threat. Trend Micro is delighted to enter into this partnership with Ericsson.” Related news items Telstra Offers $3 Million To Get Seniors Hooked on SMS -15/08/2007 Vodafone Expands Brightpoint Relationship -06/08/2007 GPS Satellite Cooperation -30/07/2007 Australian Telco Unveils Clever New Brand -04/06/2007 Drive Gets Mobile -11/05/2007 Newer news items i-mate Eases Corporate IT Fears -01/06/2006 ACMA Launches SPAM Toolbar -29/05/2006 Microsoft Beefs Up Remote Access Credentials -18/05/2006 World First Mobile Chat Guidelines To Protect Children -10/05/2006 Backup Your Laptop Anywhere -02/04/2006 Older news items MOBILE WORKERS GET NAKED -28/02/2006 EMERGENCY DIALLING FOR MOBILES -16/02/2006 TROJAN TARGETS PC AND PHONE -22/09/2005 BETTER WIRELESS SECURITY -23/08/2005 KASPERSKY UPDATES PDA PROTECTION -28/06/2005 Tag This Now: