The UK’s Defence Evaluation and Research Agency will enter the enterprise security market.
The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA), a branch of the UK’s Ministry of Defence, recently unveiled SyBard::Mail, an anti-virus solution designed to reduce the impact of viruses that automatically email copies of themselves to all addresses in the victim’s address book, by asking users to confirm each email sent.
Anti-virus firms sneered, saying that it is not a true anti-virus solution, and that it will merely ensure virus writers program viruses to answer dialog boxes automatically. However, DERA says that it was moving to solve a serious problem in the corporate security world by creating a solution that forces users to think.
Realistically, the anti-virus system will complement private firms’ solutions rather than competing with them. More importantly, though, DERA plans to launch a public limited company in July, providing advice and solutions to private sector companies. The new company, to be called QinetiQ, will offer a range of ‘Secure eBusiness solutions’, from risk assessment and training to sessions designed to help companies define better policies.
This will raise some eyebrows in the nascent managed security services market. Many security firms and service providers are looking to ramp up their offerings here, making the arrival of a former government agency with defense credentials unwelcome. While customers may welcome its expertise, many competitors will feel that the government has no right to start competing against private firms. The likes of ISS, Unisys and IBM are not best pleased – particularly as the service is designed to protect customers on a global basis.
While DERA states that its solutions are designed to plug current gaps in the market and protect businesses, it is bound to take important revenues away from current security vendors and service providers. The question which won’t go away is: should the government avoid competing with private companies in a market economy, or should the right of the customer to have more effective security solutions come first?
