Qihoo 360 expanding cloud security business

Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd, China's largest internet security company, is gearing up in the expansion of cloud security business, aiming to gain a leading position in the future key markets, especially the private cloud and hybrid cloud sector.

360 Enterprise Security Group, an internet security company affiliated to Qihoo 360, on Tuesday announced an all-round technical cooperation with VMware Inc, a California-based cloud and virtualization software provider, to jointly work on cloud computing and virtualization sectors.

The two sides said by integrating 360's leading capability in network security and VMware's advanced cloud computing strength, both aimed to offer Chinese consumers a secure and efficient computing environment.

Wu Yunkun, president of 360 Enterprise Security Group, said the two companies will jointly expand marketing plans and launch cloud security solutions.

"VMware has attained global experiences in providing private cloud services for large- and medium-sized companies. And we expect to have further cooperation with it in more fields in the future," Wu said.

"In terms of cloud security business, our strategic goal is to seek a leading position in the private and hybrid cloud security markets as well as adding the public cloud ecology," Wu said.

Based on VMware technology, an agentless antivirus product by 360 has attained VMware Ready status. Cooperating with VMware, the company said it would provide Chinese government and enterprise customers with security solutions to enhance the security of their virtualized environment.

Arthur Wang, general manager of channel and business development at VMware Greater China, said as a global leader in cloud infrastructure and business mobility, VMware is dedicated to collaborating with first-class companies like 360 Enterprise Security Group and offering advanced security solutions to Chinese clients.

"With advanced security solutions, organizations are empowered to transform their security performance and business flexibility to accelerate their business growth and innovation," Wang added.

In recent years, a surge of cyberattacks across the world has highlighted the role of cybersecurity.

Zhou Hongyi, CEO of Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd, said in a statement that cyberattacks and cybercrimes will increase in the future, and this will put reams of company data at risk.

China will have to increase its spending to combat internet crime, according to Qi Xiangdong, chairman of 360 Enterprise Security Group, an internet company affiliated to Qihoo 360.

The country spends less than 1 percent of total internet-related investment on cybersecurity.

In the United States, it is 15 percent, while in Europe it is 10 percent.

"Entering a new era of big data, cybersecurity will become as important as money, and online data will become a key target of criminals and hackers," Qi said.

Compared with mature markets such as the US, the awareness of cybersecurity is still vague, he added.

360 Enterprise Security Group has 3,700 employees and its annual revenue reached more than 2 billion yuan ($316 million) in 2017, with a 130 percent year-on-year increase, the company reported.