IBM to Launch More-Secure Software

IBM Corp. is due to launch services and software today aimed at making wireless networks and communications more secure and widely used, the company said.

IBM, based in Armonk, N.Y., said it put together a broad-based offering by its services division, Global Services, that helps companies assess, plan and implement ways to make their wireless applications and transactions more secure.

IBM also said it will launch a new version of its risk management software, Tivoli Risk Manager, that includes the ability for a corporation to manage its wireless risks the same way it manages its firewalls, servers and other security exposures.

IBM said it already was selling ThinkPad notebooks and NetVista desktop computers that include a security chip that can prevent outsiders from hacking into the machine through a wireless network.

John Kirby, IBM’s general manager of wireless e-business services, said some customers who have piloted wireless applications have not had security properly installed.

Wireless networks are used by corporations similarly to cable-based local area networks. Consumers can use wireless networks to enable their home computers to communicate with other computers in their homes. And some companies use wireless applications to transfer information from their databases to employees in the field, IBM said.