Brightmail, one of the world’s leading anti-spam software developers, has established a European logistics and operations centre in Dublin. The office, located in Harcourt Street in the capital, is one of three such centres worldwide. Dublin is part of a “follow the sun” operation, in tandem with similar facilities in San Francisco and Taipei. These facilities operate on a round-the-clock basis, 365 days a year.
The operations centres scan and filter emails from the Brightmail Probe network of honeypots – deliberately unsecured computers designed to gather information on viruses and spam. The centres catch anomalies in email from the Probe Network, allowing analysts to apply and update rules to stop spam from getting through. The network comprises more than two million spamtraps that receive tens of millions of spam each day.
Brightmail had been preparing for a stock market flotation this year when it was acquired for US$370m by the security vendor Symantec, which also has an Irish presence through its Blanchardstown centre.
Brightmail products are now also available to buy in Ireland for the first time. The company has signed a distribution agreement with Systemhouse Technology, the Leopardstown-based IT security specialist. It is understood that Systemhouse has already has already rolled out trial versions of the Brightmail product line in several public and private sector customer sites.
By Gordon Smith
