Verizon adds FireEye to its portfolio of security partners to help enterprises secure their employees' mobile phones.

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

October 29, 2014

2 Min Read
Verizon Fires Up FireEye Security Partnership

Verizon is continuing to beef up its managed security services for the enterprise with a fresh partnership, announced Wednesday, with cybersecurity vendor FireEye.

The partnership -- FireEye Inc. 's first, albeit not exclusive deal, with a US-based telco -- will combine FireEye's threat protection technology together with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ)'s cloud services and mobile network data to thwart attacks before they start, as well as learn from the ones that do occur.

Verizon's Enterprise Services division will also be reselling FireEye's Mobile Threat Prevention platform, which Kathie Miley, executive director of global security services for Verizon Enterprise Solutions, says will extend the scope of the carrier's security beyond the enterprise perimeter and on to employees' mobile devices. FireEye sells an appliance and software-based security platform that also includes a mobile app for malware detection. The pair are targeting mid-large-sized enterprises and government entities, initially in the Americas, but expanding into Asia-Pac next year.

"There hadn't been a good solution until today that could get into the devices you carry in your pocket and understand what hackers do in your devices," Miley says. "FireEye allows us to extend the capability of monitoring and managing and mitigating risks and threats."

For more on security strategies, dedicated mobile security content channel here on Light Reading.

Why this matters
Network operators are working hard to secure their own networks and internal processes, but they're also keen to sell security to enterprises as a managed service. Verizon has been among the most active here, and strategic partnerships with companies like FireEye are another step in building up what it offers into a comprehensive defense strategy.

For FireEye, the partnership not only gives it a huge channel through which to sell its services, but it also gives it access to a host of network, mobile and cloud data it likely couldn't have on its own. Steve Pataky, vice president of FireEye Worldwide Channels and Alliances, adds that most enterprise threats today are multi-vector and that partnering with Verizon lets it reduce its response time significantly.

"With the threat intelligence we can generate from our mobile platform and other products combined with all the intelligence Verizon has, it's a very powerful solution," he says.

Related posts:
Verizon has been adding to its security arsenal for a while now. Read up on its strategy below.

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

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