FireEye flies into European fray

Californian anti-malware start-up looks to build two-tier UK channel

Californian startup FireEye has touched down in the UK channel, clutching what it claims is the antidote to modern malware.

FireEye specialises in combating the new breed of ad­vanced persistent threats (APTs) recently deployed to attack several high-profile institutions including the London Stock Exchange, NASDAQ and Google.

FireEye will be 100 per cent channel in the UK and is currently scouting for its first resellers and a distributor.

European operations director Paul Davis said UK channel players understand that traditional architectures - such as firewalls, in­trusion prevention systems and anti-virus software - are no longer sufficient to block such attacks.

"We are not dependent on heuristics or signatures, which differentiates us from the traditional architectures out there," he explained. "As good as they are, these static defences are being outpaced by the malware now coming into organisations. We are another line of defence."

FireEye, which counts Juni­per among its backers, is the world's fastest-growing security vendor with revenues rising sevenfold last year, according to Davis.

"The partners we are en­gaging with recognise that we are complementary to their existing relationships [with vendors such as Check Point and Cisco] and they understand the market opportunity," added Davis. "Customers are telling them this is a big issue."

Barrie Desmond, business development director at distributor VADition, said: "I like the technology. It is for the next generation of malware and attacks, and is certainly on our radar, and I know end users are interested in its proposition."