One2One signs @stake for wireless security

One2One has signed a deal with US security consultancy @stake to help the UK mobile operator with its network security.

@stake will take responsibility for the security of One2One's GPRS network. It will run penetration and stress testing on it by simulating hack attacks.

Should such an attack take place in reality, @stake will track the malicious activity and collect evidence of it on One2One's behalf.

Avi Corfas, VP EMEA for @stake, said mobile operators are increasingly aware of the risks involved with wireless technology.

"Mobile operators are slowly waking up to the need for wireless security," he said. "All mobile technologies are relatively new, so they are prone to more vulnerabilities than the more established ones. Mobile operators have started to make all the right moves to ensure customers are protected all the way."

@stake will also train One2One employees to spot any vulnerabilities in the network.

The announcement supports Frost and Sullivan's recent prediction that the wireless security market will grow massively during the next few years.

The analyst house believes revenues in the European wireless security market were $99.6m last year, but predicts this is set to grow to $793.9m by 2005. Frost and Sullivan argue that the laptop market was one of the most lucrative for security vendors last year, but the need for PDA and mobile phone security is expected to explode in the coming months.

But the mobile security technology market is still in its infancy, according to Jose Lopez, security analyst at Frost and Sullivan.

"Looking beyond 2005, this market is expected to maintain steady growth and get higher status than it currently holds as the awareness of wireless security technologies increases," he said.