ScanAlert, previously a privately owned company, is the company behind the "Hacker Safe" kitemark used to certify ecommerce websites. The company is headquartered in Napa, California, and employs 130 people.


The Hacker Safe technology protects over 75,000 web sites and is being used by the majority of the Internet Retailer Top 500 list.

McAfee intends to integrate ScanAlert into SiteAdvisor Web rating system, which certifies that websites are dealing properly with data and not full of spamware.

Considering the fact that SiteAdvisor was bought by McAfee last year, an acquisition followed now by ScanAlert, it becomes clear that McAfee aims for a significant growth in the ecommerce solutions market, aside from its cote antivirus business. With good reason, one might add:

"Consumers are expected to spend nearly $160 billion dollars this year on products and services online, providing personal credit card information to e-commerce Web sites, many of which have traditionally been under-protected," said Dave DeWalt, chief executive officer and president of McAfee. "Through this acquisition, we will enhance McAfee’s triple play protection-securing consumers on the PC, Web and mobile platforms-by integrating ScanAlert’s e-commerce security certification service into our SiteAdvisor Web rating system. This will create the industry’s only service that helps consumers stay safe as they search, surf, and now shop."

The acquisition is expected to close in Q1 2008.