Websense Wireless, a division of Websense has unveiled new software that allows wireless operators and service providers to provide advanced security features to protect both end-users and the network from malicious Web content and to adhere to regulatory, industry and government regulations designed to protect minors from inappropriate Internet content.

The new software—the Websense Wireless URL Categorization Engine—allows operators to increase revenue streams by deploying value-added services such as customized parental controls, premium content offerings for subscribers, enhanced wireless security identification offerings, as well as mobile advertising and marketing capabilities.   

The Websense Wireless URL Categorization Engine uses Websense technology that collects URLs from Internet sites and classifies them. Depending on the content filters installed with the individual wireless service provider, access to Internet sites can be allowed, blocked, or allowed only after a "continue" option is presented to the subscriber. Wireless operators, or their subscribers, can set filtering policies for more than 90 categories of Web sites, ranging from adult content to spyware.

"The internet and mobile services have given a new meaning to the way business is conducted in India. Organisations are increasingly relying on Web Infrastructure to augment their business and enhance productivity of their workforce. India is witnessing a spectacular growth in both internet usage and mobile penetration. However, wireless infrastructure opens up organisations and people at large to online security threats, said Surendra Singh, Head, South East Asia & India, Websense. "Websense Wireless URL Categorisation Engine provides the wireless operators and IP based service providers to protect their customers from web-based security threats and also increase their revenue stream by offering it as a value-added service."

Websense offers reputation-based Web security protection to wireless operators and service providers through its patent-pending ThreatSeeker malicious content identification and categorization technology. ThreatSeeker's Web Reputation Scoring capability provides security intelligence to the Websense Wireless URL Categorization Engine by discovering and classifying Web sites based on reputation scores and suspicious characteristics. These high-risk sites are added to a threat "watch list", so operators can block access to those sites, helping to improve an operator's security coverage against external Web-based threats.

Wireless infrastructure providers and IP-based service providers can provide these solutions to wireless operators by leveraging the Websense Wireless URL Categorization Engine within their own technology offerings.  This helps reduce management and deployment costs as compared to handset-based security offerings. The engine is specifically optimized for the environments and requirements of wireless operators and Internet service providers.