BrightCloud to provide Microsoft with URL Categorization Services

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) June 4, 2009 -- BrightCloud today announced that Microsoft has selected BrightCloud to provide URL categorization services for Microsoft products. Microsoft has licensed access to BrightCloud's Hosted Internet Security Service in order to incorporate URL categorization into numerous Microsoft and Forefront-branded security products and services such as their upcoming Threat Management Gateway.

BrightCloud's Hosted Internet Security Service provides access to the largest, most accurate, and most up to date repository of categorized Web sites in the industry. Web filtering is a common feature requirement across many Microsoft products, providing end customers with the ability to manage employee internet access and mitigate security issues associated with web browsing. For example, an enterprise may wish to limit access to online gambling sites during work hours, or protect employees from unknowingly visiting websites that attempt to download malware.

The challenge presented by web browsing today is that there is a high degree of churn with websites being created at a rate of almost one hundred thousand per day, with a comparatively large number disappearing. Additionally, websites infected with downloadable malware have become the most common means of distributing malware. Keeping up with end user browsing behavior in such a dynamic environment while also addressing security concerns is a daunting task. Integration of the BrightCloud Hosted Internet Security Service with Microsoft products will help Microsoft customers mitigate these problems.

URL data from the BrightCloud's Internet Security Service will join other data feeds into Microsoft's Reputation Service (MRS), which was announced at RSA 2009. The MRS is a globally-distributed platform that provides reputation and categorization information about various digital objects including URL's, files and publishers. This reputation content services multiple end-point scenarios spanning the Microsoft and Forefront solutions.

"Web filtering is a required component in many of Microsoft's product offerings, and our customers demand a high quality solution," said Greg Kohanim, Principal Product Unit Manager, Identity and Security Division, Microsoft. "BrightCloud provides comprehensive, accurate, and up to date URL classifications for both the most popular and most obscure websites. This will help Microsoft Reputation Service customers of all types and sizes be more productive and secure, which supports the Microsoft Business Ready Security strategy."

"We are pleased that Microsoft has selected BrightCloud as a data source for their products which incorporate web filtering," said Quinn Curtis, BrightCloud CEO. "Microsoft has the highest quality and coverage requirements of any vendor, with products serving over one half billion users worldwide visiting web sites in just about any language you can think of. This validates BrightCloud's technology and processes as being able to provide a service level in the most demanding environments on the planet."

The BrightCloud Hosted Web Filtering Service, through BrightCloud's partners such as Microsoft, provides enterprise customers with the highest web filtering service level available in the industry. BrightCloud has utilized hybrid humanautomated URL classification systems, including leveraging the latest in machine learning technology, to build the industry's most comprehensive URL content and security classification service. It contains classifications for more than 180 million URLs (and growing), and as a hosted service, it is updated continuously. The BrightCloud Internet Security Service is integrated with and accessible from a variety of client types, including browsers, mobile devices, anti-virus clients, security appliances, enterprise security software, and can be integrated with carrier and internet service provider solutions.

About BrightCloud

BrightCloud, Inc. provides hosted Internet security services that are available to enterprise customers from BrightCloud OEM partners. BrightCloud's OEM partners integrate web filtering as an added security layer to their existing solutions by leveraging the BrightCloud Internet Security Service to maximize productivity and mitigate security threats. The BrightCloud Internet Security Service leverages the BrightCloud Threat Operations Center, which provides security threat data, as well as the latest in machine learning algorithms and human classification, to build and maintain the largest and most accurate Internet security service available.

For more information visit www.brightcloud.com.

###