F-Secure has joined the prpl Foundation to provide a more secure consumer experience when customers use their home Wi-Fi network and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The move leverages F-Secure’s position as a long-standing and trusted cyber security vendor with a network of 200+ operator partners worldwide.
F-Secure joins at a time when the prpl Foundation is working with operators to harmonize development processes, integration points, and security standards across the hugely fragmented router industry.
Unreliable Wi-Fi coverage issues persist in some parts of people’s homes some two decades following the broadband revolution.
“This is because nobody has addressed the need for a common software framework to provide services to be delivered seamlessly on top of different platforms,” said F-Secure Principal Consultant, Operator Market, Tom Gaffney. “Too many different vendors in the ecosystems have built proprietary solutions.”
He goes on to explain that the lack of a common standard has resulted in the process being fragmented. This is because different drivers and backends are currently needed to make Wi-Fi work with different processes and chips.
“This has led to complex development cycles for service providers and vendors, which also exposes significant security flaws in our increasingly connected world,” commented Gaffney.
The prpl Foundation is an open-source, community-driven consortium with a focus on making security and interoperability of embedded devices for the IoT and smart society more robust.
For this, prpl members are developing a support framework called prplWRT. The solution is a mix of tools, open-source development, and guidelines designed to complement OpenWrt, a Linux-based platform used by many router vendors as the basis for their software stacks.
“We are absolutely delighted to welcome F-Secure to our Foundation and look forward to a productive partnership towards a future with a safer home Wi-Fi experience for consumers,” added Art Swift, President of the prpl Foundation.
Gaffney concluded: “F-Secure, as a global, leading cyber security provider, is pleased to join the prpl Foundation to share our wide expertise in the creation of a security standards to build a better, more secure connected world.”
