Inside Secure obfuscates with Metaforic acquisition

In most cases, one of the best security defences for any IT system is to make penetration attempts more difficultto achieve than they are worth as and end result. That is one of the core strengths of Scottish company, Metaforic, which specialises in the development of software obfuscation technologies – which are used to enhance applications security by intentionally making software more difficult to understand and to reverse-engineer - and encryption-related security software for a variety of industries, including the mobile payment and mobile banking markets.

And it is the latter which has attracted the attention of Inside Secure, which has decided to acquire Metaforic for $11.6 million, for its technologies are seen as critical for securing Host Card Emulation (HCE)-based mobile payments, mobile wallets and mobile banking applications. This fits well with Insdidee Secure’s core market of embedded security solutions for mobile and connected devices.

By leveraging Inside Secure’s security capabilities, the combined comprehensive solution will lead to additional sales, and reinforce Inside Secure’s position as a key player in the fast-growing mobile security solutions market. This is because Metaforic is seen as complementing existing Inside Secure’s enterprise secure access (Virtual-Private-Network or VPN products) and content protection (Digital Right Management products) solutions by adding mobile payments.

Inside Secure claims this will make it the only company able to provide security solutions for enterprise secure access, digital entertainment and financial services markets, the three key market drivers for mobile security.

It also extends Inside Secure’s claimed lead in the security industry in providing system solution offerings, from secure software solutions to alternative secure element-based hardware and IP. Such solutions are designed to target smartphones and other mobile device markets and to overcome upcoming architectural and certification discontinuities in mobile security.

Metaforic is also seen as bringing an extensive, high quality security intellectual property and technology portfolio, in line with the company’s long-term strategy to expand its own IP licensing revenue.

"Metaforic brings critical technologies to address HCE-based, cloud-based mobile payment solutions which will become mainstream following support announced by major payment brands,” said Remy de Tonnac, CEO of Inside Secure. “It will position us as the only company able to provide security solutions for enterprise secure access, digital entertainment and financial services markets, the three key market drivers for mobile security.”

Metaforic’s products provide the highest level of protection for core payment functions and secure data exchange, whilst running entirely in software. These solutions protect data-at-rest, data-in-transit or data-in-use, bringing complete communications privacy, encryption key protection and data security to critical applications, and addressing growing security needs from major blue chip companies.

The acquisition of Metaforic follows a two-year partnership between the two companies with Inside Secure having licenced Metaforic’s technology for its content protection solutions. Metaforic will be integrated within Inside Secure’s Mobile Security division.

Introduced on Android 4.4 (KitKat) and recently supported by major payment brands, Host Card Emulation (HCE) allows for contactless payments (and other services including loyalty programs, building access and transit passes) to be made directly between consumers' banks mobile application and retailers point-of-sale using NFC technology.

It allows sensitive data used to facilitate transactions to be stored on, and accessed from cloud servers rather than a mobile device and without the use of a secure element or a SIM card.