Presence Networks Adds Sophos Anti-Virus Scanning Engine Increasing Protection for Networker Users

August 28, 2007; 07:08 AM
London, 28 August, 2007 – Presence Networks Ltd., a market leader in secured real-time unified communications, today announced a partnership with IT security and control firm Sophos, to give users a more enhanced experience of secure instant messaging. Users of Networker will now have the confidence that their files will be scanned for malware such as viruses, Trojans, worms and spyware, by Sophos’ world leading, anti-virus (AV) engine (SAV Interface).

As secure instant messaging continues to grow in the enterprise, office workers will increasingly be sending attachments over instant messaging (IM). The integration of SAV Interface will enable Presence Networks’ customers to scan all attachments being uploaded to, and downloaded from, the Networker gateway, protecting both organisations’ networks and workers’ individual desktops. SAV Interface uses innovative technologies such as Behavioral Genotype to provide protection against both known and previously unseen zero-day threats.
Sophos Anti-Virus’s scanning engine will be integrated with all versions of Networker. These include: Networker 4.0, the recently launched Networker Web Access Client (developed on Asynchronous JavaScript and XML – ‘AJAX’); and the Networker Mobile Client currently in development for mobile devices such as BlackBerry and selected smartphones. With the Sophos engine sitting on the Networker server, there will not be a negative impact on mobile devices’ processing speeds.

Symon Blomfield, CEO, Presence Networks commented: "Commitment from a global IT security vendor like Sophos is real testimony to the strength of the Networker solution, and that truly secure instant messaging is a technology with massive potential. We’re really excited at the prospect of working closely with Sophos, and are confident this will make Networker an even more compelling proposition to organisations in need of secured, real-time messaging.”

Arthur Robinson, UK Alliances manager at Sophos, added: "The IM market is growing, and while users demand access to such real-time applications, administrators don't want to put their network at risk. Presence Networks have a compelling solution to deliver the benefits of secure IM and we are very pleased to have forged this partnership."

The addition of SAV Interface, which will be available as part of Networker’s File Management option is one of several safeguards that are central to Presence Networks’ secure IM service. Networker’s Unified Communications Application is hosted on a dedicated central server that offers a remarkable 128-bit secure encryption. With Networker technology, the public IM gateway communicates with the Networker Server that in turn communicates with the Networker Client. At this point the data passes through the Networker Server where the communication is cleansed and recorded, ensuring the highest level of security and eliminating peer-to-peer communications.
SAV Interface integration is available to Presence Networks customers in September.

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About Presence Networks Ltd.

Presence Networks is the market leader in secured real time unified communications. The company’s flagship solution, Networker, delivers presence-based communications that enables users to effectively and securely communicate via a number of web-based functions (IM, eMeeting, teleconference, and file sharing) all within a controlled and authenticated environment. For organisations, Networker enables the deployment of presence based collaborative communications, in a secure, compliant and accountable fashion. Presence Networks is a privately funded UK based organisation with partner alliances throughout Europe, Asia Pac and the US.

For more information, see www.presence-networks.net.

About Sophos

Sophos is a world leader in IT security and control. Sophos offers complete protection and control to business, education and government organizations - defending against known and unknown malware, spyware, intrusions, unwanted applications, spam, policy abuse and uncontrolled network access (NAC). Sophos's reliably engineered, easy-to-operate products protect over 100 million users in more than 150 countries. Through over 20 years' experience and a global network of threat analysis centers, the company responds rapidly to emerging threats and achieves the highest levels of customer satisfaction in the industry. Sophos is a global company with headquarters in Boston, MA, and Oxford, UK.

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Presence Networks and Networker are registered trademarks of Presence Networks Ltd. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.