Juniper Networks Launches New Smartphone Security Suite

SAN FRANCISCO—Juniper Networks, known for a long time as a second fiddle to Cisco Systems in the network I/O movement, boosted its standing in the network security sector Oct. 26 by introducing a new end-to-end suite of security products and services for smartphones.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company, recognizing along with everybody else that connected devices are now used for many purposes, unveiled the Junos Pulse Mobile Security Suite, which is designed to protect connected mobile devices whether they are used at work or at home.

The Mobile Security Suite is the newest product in Juniper's larger Junos Pulse platform, which the company originated in 2004 as an enterprise-only security software suite after it acquired NetScreen.

The new suite includes antivirus, personal firewall, anti-spam, loss and theft prevention, and monitoring and control services. It enables enterprises to provide employees secure access to corporate applications and e-mail on mobile devices.

It also enables service providers to deliver a secure mobile connection to consumers and enterprises who routinely store sensitive information on their smartphones.

The Mobile Security Suite also can work for families on their phone provider network. Thanks to its parental control functions—which include a GPS-based locator, alerts about keywords and photos sent from the child's phone on the network, and other watchdog-type functions—Junos Pulse Mobile Security Suite also can be an option for parents who want to protect their children from inappropriate contact and exploitation.

In addition, the new suite includes remote wipe, remote lock and remote data backup in case of a lost device. The Web-based controls are displayed on a central administration screen on the network.

Much of the consumer-facing aspects of the Junos Pulse Mobile Security Suite – device management, parental controls, anti-malware, spam, and others – come from SMobile Systems, a smartphone security software vendor that Juniper acquired in July 2010.

BT the first to offer the suite as an option

British Telecom, which had a representative at the Oct. 26 launch at the Bently Reserve here, is the first telecom company to adopt the security suite. Others, such as AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, are expected to follow in the coming months.
 
Juniper Vice President Sanjay Beri told eWEEK that his company believes the Junos Pulse Mobile Security Suite is the only integrated security package on the market that provides both security and secure connectivity for virtually all mobile devices, and that provides such a deep feature set.

"With all the smartphones and tablets coming into the enterprise, and service providers wanting to offer management mobility services, we knew that extending Pulse to the smartphone arena was critical," Beri told eWEEK.

Juniper also used the occasion to announce the opening of the Juniper Global Threat Center to provide around-the-clock, global monitoring of mobile security threats to consumers and enterprises.

The facility, based in Columbus, Ohio—site of the SMobile offices—is the first such center dedicated to tracking, responding and researching threats to mobile devices, including viruses, spyware and other security vulnerabilities that can expose a user's personal, professional and sensitive information, Juniper executive and former SMobile CEO Neal Book told eWEEK.