Editing F-Secure

{{Short description|Finnish cyber security company}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox company
| name = F-Secure Corporation
| logo = FS-logo.png
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{OMX|HEX258491|FSECURE}}
| foundation = May 16, 1988 (as Data Fellows)<br/>1999 (as F-Secure)
| founder = Petri Allas<br/>Risto Siilasmaa
| location = [[Helsinki, Finland]]
| key_people = {{ubl|[[Risto Siilasmaa]], [[Entrepreneurship|founder]] & [[chairman]]|Timo Laaksonen, [[Chief executive officer|CEO]]|[[Mikko Hyppönen]], Principal Research Advisor<ref name=ranger2014 />}}
| industry = [[Computer software]]
| products = [[Cybersecurity software]]
| services = [[Computer security]]
| revenue = {{increase}} [[Euro|€]]111.0 million (2022)<ref>[https://storage.mfn.se/6212cbc7-eb11-470c-9eb3-c3be37a5bcb8/f-secure-financial-statement-release-2022.pdf Financial statement 2022]</ref>
| operating_income = {{increase}} €38.8 million (2022)<ref name="results">{{cite web|work=F-Secure Corporation|title=Annual Report 2020|url=https://www.f-secure.com/content/dam/f-secure/en/investors/materials/interim-reports/2020/f-secure-interim-report-q4-2020.pdf|access-date=23 March 2021|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418064128/https://www.f-secure.com/content/dam/f-secure/en/investors/materials/interim-reports/2020/f-secure-interim-report-q4-2020.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| assets = {{increase}} €62.7 million (2022)<ref name="results" />
| equity = {{increase}} €24.8 million (2022)<ref name="results" />
| num_employees = 350+ (2022)<ref name="results" />
| parent = 
| subsid = 
| owner = 
| homepage = {{url|https://f-secure.com}}
| footnotes = 
}}
'''F-Secure Corporation''' is a global [[cyber security]] and privacy company, which has its headquarters in [[Helsinki]], Finland.

The company has offices in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, with a presence in more than 100 countries, and Security Lab operations in Helsinki and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

F-Secure develops and sells [[antivirus]], [[VPN]], [[password management]], and other consumer [[cyber security]] products and services for computers, mobile devices, smart TVs and [[internet of things]] devices. The company also offers several free-to-use tools on its website. 

In 2022, F-Secure announced a demerger of its corporate and consumer businesses: the corporate business branch was renamed to WithSecure.<ref name=":0">{{cite web | url=https://www.f-secure.com/gb-en/investors/demerger | title=Demerger &#124; WithSecure™ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.withsecure.com/en/whats-new/pressroom/f-secure-corporate-security-relaunches-as-withsecure | title=F-Secure Corporate Security relaunches as WithSecure™ }}</ref>

==History==
F-Secure was first established under the name Data Fellows by Petri Allas and [[Risto Siilasmaa]] on May 16, 1988. Data Fellows trained computer users and built customized databases. Three years later, the company launched its first major software project and developed the first [[heuristic]] scanner for [[antivirus]] products. F-Secure’s first antivirus product for [[Microsoft Windows|Windows PCs]] was launched in 1994. Data Fellows became F-Secure in 1999. F-Secure was the first company that developed an anti-[[rootkit]] technology called BlackLight in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/use-blacklight-to-remove-rootkits/|title=Using Blacklight to detect and remove Rootkits from your computer: Home|publisher=BleepingComputer}}</ref>

In June 2015, F-Secure expanded into the enterprise market by acquiring nSense, a Danish company that specialized in security consultation and vulnerability assessment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/fsecure-snaps-up-security-consultation-firm-nsense/ |title=F-Secure snaps up security consultation firm nSense: Home |publisher=[[ZDNet]] }}</ref> The purchase followed of Inverse Path, a privately owned Italian security consultancy with experience in avionics, automotive, and industrial control sectors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.computerweekly.com/microscope/news/450413134/F-Secure-acquires-consultancy-player-Inverse-Path/ |title=F-Secure F-Secure acquires consultancy player Inverse Path: Home |publisher=[[Computer Weekly]] |access-date=2017-03-13 |archive-date=2018-01-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118180957/http://www.computerweekly.com/microscope/news/450413134/F-Secure-acquires-consultancy-player-Inverse-Path/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

F-Secure Client Security received the [[AV-TEST]] Best Protection award for the fifth time in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.av-test.org/en/award/2016/best-protection-f-secure/ |title=The Independent IT-Security Institute: Home |publisher=[[AV-TEST]] |access-date=2017-03-13 |archive-date=2017-03-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313124702/https://www.av-test.org/en/award/2016/best-protection-f-secure/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In June 2018, F-Secure acquired security company MWR InfoSecurity for £80 million ($106 million). F-Secure gained the MWR consulting business (now F-Secure Consulting), its threat hunting product Countercept (now F-Secure [[Managed detection and response|Managed Detection and Response]]), and its suite of phishing protection services, phishd.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2018-06-18|title=F-Secure acquires MWR InfoSecurity|language=en-US|work=Help Net Security|url=https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2018/06/18/f-secure-acquires-mwr-infosecurity/|access-date=2018-06-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2018-06-18|title=F-Secure to buy cyber security firm MWR|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/mwr-ma-f-secure-idUSL8N1TK47W|access-date=2019-10-22}}</ref>   

On February 17, 2022, F-Secure announced a demerger of its corporate and consumer businesses. In conjunction with the demerger, the company was renamed as WithSecure Corporation.<ref name=":0" /> The consumer security business was to be transferred into a new independent company and continue using the name F-Secure Corporation. The demerger came into effect July 1, 2022, when F-Secure was listed on [[Nasdaq Helsinki]] and the corporate business was completely separated from the company.<ref name="Nasdaq">{{cite web |title=Nasdaq Helsinki welcomes F-Secure after a partial demerger |url=https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/nasdaq-helsinki-welcomes-f-secure-after-a-partial-demerger-2022-07-01 |website=Nasdaq |access-date=13 July 2022 |ref=Nasdaq |date=1 July 2022}}</ref>

==Academia==
Around 2008, in co-operation with [[Aalto University School of Science and Technology]], F-Secure ran a one-semester course for future virus analysts, with some material available online.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tml.tkk.fi/Opinnot/T-110.6220/ |title=TKK - TML - Courses |publisher=TML |date=2008-08-29 |access-date=2012-02-01 |archive-date=2012-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207144715/http://www.tml.tkk.fi/Opinnot/T-110.6220/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Controversies==
In 2001, after media coverage of the [[Magic Lantern (spyware)|Magic Lantern]] spyware and claims by some AV vendors to purposely leave a backdoor for it in their products, F-Secure announced their policy on detecting these spying programs:

"F-Secure Corporation would like to make known that we will not leave such backdoors to our F-Secure Anti-Virus products, regardless of the source of such tools. We have to draw a line with every sample we get regarding whether to detect it or not. This decision-making is influenced only by technical factors, and nothing else, but within the applicable laws and regulations, in our case meaning EU laws."

"We will also be adding detection of any program we see that might be used for [[terrorist activity]] or to benefit [[organized crime]]. We would like to state this for the record, as we have received queries regarding whether we would have the guts to detect something obviously made by a known violent [[mafia]] or terrorist organization. Yes we would."<ref>{{cite web|title=F-Secure Corporation's policy on detecting spying programs developed by various governments|url=http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/bdtp.shtml|publisher=F-Secure|access-date=25 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225003100/http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/bdtp.shtml|archive-date=25 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Companies}}
* [[Internet security]]
* [[Comparison of antivirus software]]
* [[Comparison of computer viruses]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=

* <ref name=ranger2014>{{cite news | last=Ranger | first=Steve | title=Inside the secret digital arms race: Facing the threat of a global cyberwar | work=[[TechRepublic]] | url=http://www.techrepublic.com/article/inside-the-secret-digital-arms-race/ | access-date=April 25, 2014 }}</ref>

}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}

{{Antivirus software}}
{{Nasdaq Helsinki}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Antivirus software]]
[[Category:Software companies established in 1988]]
[[Category:Software companies of Finland]]
[[Category:Companies based in Helsinki]]
[[Category:Companies listed on Nasdaq Helsinki]]
[[Category:Computer security software companies]]
[[Category:Security software]]
[[Category:Finnish brands]]