Skelmersdale firm Blackbelt unveils ambitions expansion plans in South East Asia

Aug 11 2011 Skelmersdale Advertiser

Skelmersdale firm Blackbelt unveils ambitions expansion plans in South East Asia

NEW jobs could be created after a Skel- mersdale firm that provides mobile device anti-virus software unveiled ambitious expansion plans in South East Asia.

BlackBelt has signed an agreement with Vietnamese distributor MV Corp to sell its SmartPhone Defence product in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Their software is designed to protect smartphones and the deal will see the product targeted at the region’s largest operators to be pre-installed on its devices. Operators include Viettel, Vinaphone, Mobifone, Metfone and Cellcard. SmartPhone Defence is currently available in the UK and other European markets, and has been rewritten in Vietnamese for its launch in the South East Asian countries.

Peter Harrison from Blackbelt said: “We are really pleased to have secured this deal and ultimately this will create new jobs. We can’t put a figure on how much this could be worth to us yet. We are looking at moving into other countries in the area.”

Blackbelt is based in Westgate and currently employs 10 people.

According to BlackBelt general manager Errol Finkelstein there are currently over 15 million smartphone users in Vietnam.

“Many people go to extreme lengths to protect the data on their PCs or laptops and yet leave the same data on their smartphones completely vulnerable.”

Finkelstein says BlackBelt’s software can protect devices through its ability to detect and terminate malicious malware attacks which can steal data, reduce battery life and make calls and texts to premium numbers.

The software also includes BlackBelt Antitheft which safeguards a handset’s data when it is lost or stolen. It is also able to pinpoint the location of a device through GPS, which increases the possibility of retrieval.