McAfee Expands Mobile Security Portfolio

McAfee announced plans on 29 July to acquire mobile security vendor TenCube in a continued push by the company to expand its capabilities for mobile devices.

The move, made for an undisclosed sum, is the second purchase in the area of mobile security that McAfee has made in the past few months. In June, the security vendor closed on its acquisition of Trust Digital, which brought the company’s mobile management and security tools into the McAfee fold.

WaveSecure

This latest acquisition is focused on TenCube’s WaveSecure service, which includes remote locate, lock, backup and wipe technology that allows users to find and secure lost phones. According to McAfee, the phone will also automatically go into lock-down mode if it is used with an unauthorised wireless account and will inform a user’s emergency contact of its location. In addition, WaveSecure-locked phones show a permanent message on the screen explaining how to return the phone to its owner.

McAfee said it also plans to offer a child-locator service based on the WaveSecure technology.

“There has been a tremendous amount of innovation in the past year with smartphones and other mobile devices, which really puts McAfee at a tipping point,” Todd Gebhart, executive vice president of consumer, mobile and small business at McAfee, said in a statement. “With our more than 20 years of expertise in securing the endpoint, nearly a decade of experience securing mobile devices and a vast partner ecosystem, we are well positioned to out innovate and deliver the broadest mobile platform available.”

McAfee said it expects the deal to close in August.