Nieuwegein, July 27, 2005 – Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE: CA) announced the acquisition of Qurb, Inc., a privately held provider of email security software, in an all-cash transaction. The acquisition extends CA's industry-leading eTrust security management solutions portfolio by blocking spam and protecting individuals against phishing attacks, email fraud and other email-based threats to data and privacy.
CA has licensed Qurb technology for its eTrust consumer product line since 2004. CA will continue to market Qurb's technology as e Trust Anti-Spam and will incorporate it into the eTrust Threat Management suite — a complete set of modular solutions designed to protect organizations from a full range of cyber-threats, including viruses, spam and inappropriate use of the Web by employees.
The acquisition of Qurb closely follows CA's acquisition of Tiny Software, a leading provider of desktop firewall solutions. Both acquisitions broaden CA's penetration into the consumer and SMB markets, while supporting its enterprise customers with enhanced desktop security management capabilities.
“Computer users everywhere — from the CIO responsible for tens of thousands of employees to small businesses and individuals — are desperate to get control over their inboxes,” said Toby Weiss, senior vice president and general manager of CA's eTrust business unit. “Qurb's identity-based email security technology delivers that control — effectively protecting our customers worldwide from the spam, phishing attacks, and other email-based assaults that undermine productivity, erode privacy and turn everyday communications tasks into a minefield of cyber-threats.”
Spam is becoming increasingly costly and dangerous as spammers deliver more virulent payloads through email attachments. According to a recent IDC study, the volume of spam messages sent daily worldwide jumped from 7 billion in 2002 to 23 billion in 2004.*
Qurb helps to stop spam immediately upon installation without requiring any manual configuration. Qurb automatically builds a comprehensive list of approved senders by scanning existing email and contact folders. It then uses an identity-based approach to ensure a completely clean inbox, while applying content analysis techniques to help users quickly and easily identify potentially legitimate messages that have been quarantined.
Available in 15 languages, Qurb has an installed base of nearly a million users worldwide and has been PC Magazine's Editor's Choice as the best anti-spam solution for the past three years. Qurb software is licensed for distribution by OEMs, resellers and Internet service providers under their respective brands.
“CA has been a great partner for Qurb and has helped expand our market footprint around the globe,” said Felix Lin, CEO and founder of Qurb, Inc., who is joining CA as vice president of strategy for eTrust. “As part of CA's eTrust product line, we will now be able to deliver the benefits of our award-winning email security technology to an even broader audience — while increasing its effectiveness as an integrated component of the comprehensive eTrust threat avoidance solution.”
Terms of the acquisition were not announced. Qurb Inc. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in San Mateo, Calif.
*IDC, “Worldwide Antispam Solutions 2004-2008 Forecast and 2003 Vendor Shares: What Is Being Done About Spam,” Brian E. Burke and Mark Levitt, December 2004.
NOTES TO EDITORS
About CA
Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE:CA), one of the world's largest management software companies, delivers software and services across operations, security, storage, life cycle and service management to optimize the performance, reliability and efficiency of enterprise IT environments. Founded in 1976, CA is headquartered in Islandia, N.Y., and serves customers in more than 140 countries. For more information, please visit http://ca.com.
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