Burglar alarm catches hackers on the Net

Swedish security start-up Defcom Security, launched a pan-European 24-hour "hacker burglar alarm" for businesses, Monday.

The service gives European companies the opportunity to outsource network intrusion detection instead of relying on internal security experts to keep hackers at bay.

Defcom showed off its flagship European "alarm centre" in Stockholm Monday -- from which a company's network security can remotely monitored -- and said that similar centres are currently being tested in London and Berlin, and will be operational there after the summer.

CEO of Defcom Mathais Elvang, believes that by monitoring network activity around the clock, Defcom offers companies unparalleled protection from malicious hackers. "Defcom Online is a burglar alarm for your network and works to protect systems from intrusion and potential failure. Such intrusions could result in severe financial losses or loss of confidence by customers," he says.

Defcom also believes it can offer businesses and police a helping hand in apprehending computer security assailants. "We can also trace down a hacker and find out where they live," says chief technical officer of Defcom, Thomas Olofsson. "One of the main issues is that many people don't have the technical know-how to do this."

Olofsson said that resources could be shared between these centres in the case of a number of concerted and distributed attacks on different clients. No other security firms in Europe currently offers a remote network intrusion detection service, and Defcom believes it can carve out a healthy lead in this field.

"We really have first mover advantage," says company chairman Lars F. Windfeldt. "Now we want to role out into all of the European market as soon as possible."

Windfeldt says that the company which was founded last year, intends to IPO in nine to twelve months.

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