news Australia based TrustDefender, a specialist in secure browsing technologies and malware protection, has been acquired by US-based ThreatMetrix, a provider of cybercrime prevention solutions. Consolidated under the ThreatMetrix brand, the company will operate in the US, Australia and Europe with its headquarters in San Jose, California.
The Sydney based TrustDefender, privately owned and founded in 2006, is known for its security and fraud detection technologies at the device and transaction level. Its customers include banks, e-commerce, government and cloud application providers who wish to reduce costs brought about by online fraud. ThreatMetrix, also originally founded in Australia but now headquartered in the US, is known for its integrated cybercrime prevention solutions. The company’s Cybercrime Defender Platform protects client data and transactions from fraud, data breaches, and Man-in-the-browser (MitB) and Trojan attacks. The industries it services include financial services, e-commerce, payments, social networks, government, and healthcare.
Reed Taussig, the president and CEO of ThreatMetrix said in a statement that the synergies between device identification and secure browsing were the reasons for the acquisition. “Successful transaction profiling requires sophisticated malware detection and intelligent device identification to determine if the device is compromised or if the transaction is at risk of being fraudulent. While our customers have recognized this for a long time, the only available solution — until now — was to implement multiple products across different vendors” said Taussig.
He also said that integrating the twin needs of device identification and secure browsing into one product affords competitive pricing and easy installation of the product. As a result they are able to offer a complete fraud management solution to consumers.
Andreas Baumhof, co-founder and CEO of TrustDefender, will be joining ThreatMetrix as the company’s chief technology officer. He said that the year 2011 witnessed a huge rise in Trojan activities that resulted in stolen identities and fraudulent transactions. “Malware protection and fraud prevention are closely related, yet no truly integrated solutions were available in the market. The merger allows ThreatMetrix to address fraud prevention and malware protection as a single problem and deliver real benefits to customers at a lower cost,” said Baumhof.
Co-founder of TrustDefender Ted Egan told SmartCompany that both the companies already have a working relationship and have worked earlier together on other projects. “Our research is split between Sydney and San Jose, and our management team is split between the two as well. I’ll be heading up as sales director for the Asia Pacific, which includes China and India, and we’re continuing to grow in both the United States and Europe” said Egan.