DHS certifies first cyber products under SAFETY Act

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has certified the first cybersecurity products ever under the SAFETY Act, a post-9/11 program that provides a level of liability protection to companies that use certain products to enhance their security.

Customers that employ FireEye’s Multi-Vector Virtual Execution engine and Dynamic Threat Intelligence platform are now protected from lawsuits or claims alleging that the products failed to prevent an act of cyberterrorism, the company said.

{mosads}FireEye is a leader in the cybersecurity industry for incident prevention and response. The certification of its products is seen as a landmark event in the government’s effort to step up U.S. cyber defenses.

“FireEye is proud to earn this first-ever SAFETY Act certification in the cybersecurity space, bringing a new level of liability protection for our customers,” said FireEye CEO David DeWalt in a statement.

“This certification validates our position as the leader in the advanced cybersecurity market, and is further evidence that our visionary work continues to represent the cutting edge of cyber defense.”

The announcement is likely to stoke interest in the MVX and DTI technologies as companies across the private sector seek to avoid data breaches and the lawsuits that would accompany them.

The SAFETY Act was passed in 2002 to encourage the development of anti-terrorism technologies by ensuring that the threat of liability doesn’t deter manufacturers. FireEye’s are the first purely cyber products to be certified under the program.