Lookout brings predictive mobile security to federal agencies with Lookout Federal Systems

Lookout, the San Francisco, CA-based global leader in mobile security, announced on January 22 Lookout Federal Systems, established to address the unique requirements of the government marketplace and help make the federal workforce more productive through the secure use of mobile devices. To deliver its predictive mobile security solutions to federal agencies, Lookout has partnered with Carahsoft, the trusted Government IT solutions provider. Additionally, the Lookout Federal Systems Advisory Board, also announced today, will work with Lookout management to educate federal agencies on the ways to enable mobility without sacrificing security.

Mobile malware in the U.S. has grown 75 percent over the last year, from 4 to 7 percent, according to Lookout’s recently released 2014 Mobile Threat Report. In fact, as part of this report, Lookout conducted a mobile risk assessment on a sample of mobile devices that connected to the networks of a major U.S. federal agency and found that 29 percent of these devices had also encountered a mobile threat. Also in this report, Lookout found that mobile malware is becoming increasingly sophisticated, beginning to rival that of PC malware.

“As federal agencies adopt BYOD and other mobility programs to reduce costs, increase productivity and effectiveness, and appeal to a changing workforce, the growth and sophistication of mobile malware must be addressed,” said Bob Stevens, vice president of Lookout Federal Systems. “Mobile devices store and transmit immense amounts of data, are highly portable and constantly connected to unsecured networks, making them an extremely weak link in the security ecosystem. At Lookout, we have access to virtually all the mobile code in the world, which allows us to predict and stop mobile attacks before they do harm and make it safer for mobile devices to be used in the federal workplace.”

Lookout’s technology is powered by a collaborative global sensor network of more than 60 million users and partnerships with the largest mobile network operators in the world. More than 10,000 mobile apps are added to its network daily, giving Lookoutaccess to the world’s most robust dataset of mobile code. This dataset fuels a cloud-based platform that tracks the relationships between code to identify threats from known attackers and uses machine intelligence to predict new, never-before-seen threats. This scale and technology makes it possible for Lookout to identify hidden connections that would typically evade traditional detection systems.

“As the trusted IT solutions provider for federal government, we see the government’s demand for improved mobile security solutions growing significantly,” said Brian O’Donnell, vice president at Carahsoft. “Lookout’s cybersecurity solutions focus solely on mobile, making it an ideal partner to enable our federal customers to securely and confidently deploy mobility initiatives within their organizations.”

Lookout’s Federal Systems Advisory Board is chaired by Roger Cressey, a nationally recognized expert on counter-terrorism and cybersecurity and a former director on the National Security Council. Other members of the Board include industry professionals with defense, intelligence and civilian agency credentials, as well as experience with IT industry leadership.

“Mobile is already a significant cybersecurity threat vector and the risks are only increasing as private and public sector organizations alike embark on mobility initiatives,” said Cressey. “To protect their missions, federal cybersecurity leaders need a stronger understanding of the risks mobile devices introduce to their organizations so that they can develop in-depth defense strategies that systematically address the threat of mobile attacks.”

SOURCE Lookout