F-Secure joins leading tech charity Internet Watch Foundation

Helsinki, Finland - November 12, 2021: Global cyber security provider F-Secure has joined the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a charity dedicated to the eradication of online child sexual abuse imagery. Joining the IWF strengthens both organizations' efforts in protecting children by allowing them to capitalize on one another's unique capabilities.

"F-Secure joins the IWF at a pivotal time. Last year was a record year for the IWF, with our analysts finding and removing more child sexual abuse content from the internet than ever before," said Susie Hargreaves OBE, Chief Executive of the IWF. "The threat posed by online sex predators, who will exploit anything they can to access and abuse children, cannot be underestimated. This is why working with organizations like F-Secure is so important. They are vital allies in protecting children and making the internet a safer place for everyone."

The Internet Watch Foundation is a registered UK charity founded in 1996 whose mission is the removal of child sexual abuse images and videos from the internet. Each week, more than 3,000 webpages are accessed* and criminal content removed by the organization's analysts. Last year they flagged millions** of criminal images and videos for removal.

On average, F-Secure prevents nearly 300,000 malicious websites from spreading malware or otherwise harming companies and individuals every single day. Furthermore, F-Secure's global network of over 200 communication service provider partners - the largest such ecosystem of security conscious operators in the cyber security industry - puts it in a unique position to work within the telecommunications sector to create innovative new protection strategies.

"Not only organizations, but more and more consumers look for help to ensure kids are safe in our connected world," said Joakim Öhrström, Director of Product Broadband & TV at Tele2, one of F-Secure's Swedish operator partners. "Last year, F-Secure worked with us to create a content filtering system that met the specific consumer needs and regulatory demands of our market. After working together, Tele2 actually became the first operator in Sweden able to offer the kind of filtering capabilities parents and other stakeholders want."

"Many of the security challenges that concern us all are too big for any single organization to handle alone. By cooperating with our partners, we're able to find new solutions to problems like the spread of child sexual abuse imagery," said F-Secure Executive Vice President of Consumer Security Timo Laaksonen. "And thanks to our expansive network of operator partners, we can quickly and efficiently spread the new solutions we create to millions of people throughout the globe."

Anyone that comes across child sexual abuse imagery, videos, or similar content can report it the IWF quickly, anonymously, and confidentially via this link: https://report.iwf.org.uk/en.

*Source:https://www.iwf.org.uk/what-we-do**Source:https://www.iwf.org.uk/news/%E2%80%98grave-threat%E2%80%99-children-predatory-internet-groomers-online-child-sexual-abuse-material-soars