Acquisition of digital identity and authentication  provider will expand Avast's Identity product and services portfolio as  part of its digital freedom vision

PRAGUE, March 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Avast (LSE:AVST), a global leader in digital security  and privacy, today announced the acquisition of SecureKey Technologies, a  global provider of digital identity and authentication solutions  headquartered in Canada. SecureKey's  next generation privacy-enhancing services are focused on simplifying  access to online services while giving control back to consumers by  ensuring the information they share with others is only ever with their  explicit consent.

Identity and Authentication and reusable digital identity services are expected to grow to $266bn by 2027 with a CAGR of 68.9%, according to Liminal (formerly  OWI), the digital identity specialists, with the private sector to  capture the majority of this growth. SecureKey's mission has been to  simplify consumer access to secure online services and applications,  such as government, healthcare, and financial account opening, utilizing  secure digital versions of the credentials they already have and trust.

"We envisage a global and reusable digital identity framework which will underpin a new trust layer for the internet," said Ondrej Vlcek,  CEO, Avast. "It's clear that digital identity is the critical enabler  for many digital services and SecureKey's success reflects the growing  demand for this from consumers. SecureKey is highly complementary to  Avast's prior work in Identity and together we will take our offer to  the next level, accelerating innovation and working to establish a  user-focused, global approach that aligns user, business, and government  propositions. We are committed to developing offerings that will be  fully inclusive for everyone, regardless of their own circumstances."

Services developed by SecureKey include those currently known as  Verified.Me, a first-of-its-kind, distributed digital identity  verification network, and Government Sign-In by Verified.Me for  convenient login to hundreds of government online services and  applications. Both services are provided by Interac Corp. under an  exclusive Canadian licensing arrangement. SecureKey's digital identity  solutions enable over 200 million secure digital ID transactions per  year globally. SecureKey's continued investments will support emerging  digital identity standards and solutions, including DIDs (Decentralized  Identifiers) and Verifiable Credentials, to further empower digital  trust networks and ecosystems enabling true user centric control.

"SecureKey's  vision has been to revolutionize the way consumers and organizations  approach identity and the sharing of personal information in the digital  age. By working closely with governments, financial institutions and  businesses, we have an established track record of trusted and mature  identity networks that provide consumers with the secure digital  capabilities they deserve," said Greg Wolfond,  CEO, SecureKey. "Combining forces with Avast enables us to innovate  further and faster with our technology as we together look to build a  more trustworthy future for all internet users."

"The maturity of  the SecureKey hybrid federation, bank ID, and decentralized technology  suite and history of strong operational delivery in Canada for discerning financial services and government customers &  partners positions Avast for geographic expansion. As the European  community is investing in public-private sector digital identity  infrastructure in 2022 and beyond, we see Avast well positioned as a  collaborative provider of digital trust services for people, digital  businesses and government," said Charles Walton,  General Manager and SVP Identity, Avast. "Success for us is where  digital identity becomes simple, user-centric and portable, and can  enable a more trustworthy digital experience and deeper online  engagement benefiting both people and business."

The deal is expected to close in early April 2022 with the general availability of SecureKey's products following in Q2.

About Avast:
Avast (LSE:AVST), a FTSE 100 company, is a global leader in digital security and privacy, headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic.  With over 435 million users online, Avast offers products under the  Avast and AVG brands that protect people from threats on the internet  and the evolving IoT threat landscape. The company's threat detection  network is among the most advanced in the world, using machine learning  and artificial intelligence technologies to detect and stop threats in  real time. Avast digital security products for Mobile, PC or Mac are top-ranked and certified by VB100,  AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and others. Avast is a member of  Coalition Against Stalkerware, No More Ransom, and the Internet Watch  Foundation. Visit: www.avast.com.

Contact: Stephanie Kane - pr@avast.com

Keep in touch with Avast:

About SecureKey Technologies
SecureKey is a  leading identity and authentication provider that simplifies consumer  access to online services and applications. SecureKey enables a next  generation privacy-enhancing identity and authentication network for  connecting people to online services using digital credentials they  already have and trust. For more information, please visit www.securekey.com.

For SecureKey media enquiries:
Didier Serra - didier.serra@securekey.com
Maggie Hall - maggie.hall@kaiserpartners.com

SOURCE Avast Software, Inc.