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F-Secure

F-Secure Corporation is a Finnish global cyber security and privacy company, which has its headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. F-Secure develops and sells antivirus, VPN, password management, and other consumer cyber security products and services for computers, mobile devices, smart TVs and internet of things devices. The company also offers several free-to-use tools on its website.

In 2022, F-Secure announced a demerger of its corporate and consumer businesses: the corporate business branch was renamed to WithSecure.

History

F-Secure was first established under the name Data Fellows by Petri Allas and Risto Siilasmaa on 16 May 1988. Data Fellows trained computer users and built customized databases. Three years later, the company launched its first major software project and developed the first heuristic scanner for antivirus products. F-Secure’s first antivirus product for Windows PCs was launched in 1994. Data Fellows became F-Secure in 1999.[3] F-Secure was the first company that developed an anti-rootkit technology called BlackLight in 2005.[4]

In June 2015, F-Secure expanded into the enterprise market by acquiring nSense, a Danish company that specialized in security consultation and vulnerability assessment.[5] The purchase followed of Inverse Path, a privately owned Italian security consultancy with experience in avionics, automotive, and industrial control sectors.[6]

F-Secure Client Security received the AV-TEST Best Protection award for the fifth time in 2016.[7]

In June 2018, F-Secure acquired security company MWR InfoSecurity for £80 million ($106 million). F-Secure gained the MWR consulting business (now F-Secure Consulting), its threat hunting product Countercept (now F-Secure Managed Detection and Response), and its suite of phishing protection services, phishd.[8][9]

On 17 February 2022 F-Secure announced a demerger of its corporate and consumer businesses. In conjunction with the demerger, the company was renamed as WithSecure Corporation.[10] The consumer security business was to be transferred into a new independent company and continue using the name F-Secure Corporation. The demerger came into effect 1 July 2022, when F-Secure was listed on Nasdaq Helsinki and the corporate business was completely separated from the company.[11]

See also

  • Internet security
  • Comparison of antivirus software

External links

References

  1. Financial statement 2022^
  2. Annual Report 2020 F-Secure Corporation, retrieved 23 March 2021^
  3. Sawdah Bhaimiya. Cybersecurity salaries revealed: There's a talent shortage and firms will pay top talent base salaries as high as $220,000 Business Insider, 2022-09-30, retrieved 2026-03-19^
  4. Using Blacklight to detect and remove Rootkits from your computer: Home BleepingComputer^
  5. F-Secure snaps up security consultation firm nSense: Home ZDNet^
  6. F-Secure F-Secure acquires consultancy player Inverse Path: Home Computer Weekly, retrieved 2017-03-13^
  7. The Independent IT-Security Institute: Home AV-TEST, retrieved 2017-03-13^
  8. F-Secure acquires MWR InfoSecurity Help Net Security, 2018-06-18, retrieved 2018-06-19^
  9. F-Secure to buy cyber security firm MWR Reuters, 2018-06-18, retrieved 2019-10-22^
  10. Demerger | WithSecure™^
  11. Nasdaq Helsinki welcomes F-Secure after a partial demerger Nasdaq, 1 July 2022, retrieved 13 July 2022^
  12. Steve Ranger. Inside the secret digital arms race: Facing the threat of a global cyberwar TechRepublic, retrieved April 25, 2014^