ESET expands into Montréal
New offices of cybersecurity firm will double its staff
Montréal, January 12, 2017 – ESET Canada Recherche, the Montréal-based research and development branch of the global antimalware company ESET, today opened a new office in downtown Montréal and said it expects to strengthen its researcher base by doubling its staff in the city.
“Montréal proved to have all the key characteristics to welcome a successful cybersecurity R&D centre,” said Richard Marko, Chief Executive Officer of ESET. “Almost a quarter of a million post-secondary students are currently enrolled in the city’s six universities, which brings an innovative spirit in many disciplines and allows for a constant flow of talented candidates. Montréal also benefits from a very active and diverse cybersecurity community comprised of a mix of start-ups and larger companies.”
ESET has been present in Montréal since 2009. From its technological hub on the Polytechnique Montréal campus it has been conducting cutting-edge research projects with a specific focus on situational awareness of web-based threats and enhancing public understanding of malware through blogposts, whitepapers and presentations. The new Montréal office currently has nearly a dozen employees and will create 15 additional positions within the next five years.
Over the years, ESET’s Montréal research lab has yielded extraordinary results. In 2014 it received the very first Péter Szőr Award for Best Technical Paper for its research on Operation Windigo at the 24th Virus Bulletin International Conference in Seattle, WA. ESET also provided technical expertise and botnet tracking data to a global effort led by Microsoft to disrupt operation of the Dorkbot malware family, which infected over 1 million computers in 190 countries. The data provided by ESET led the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to investigate and serve its first-ever warrant under Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) law to take down a command-and-control server located in Toronto, Ontario.
“The threat landscape ESET customers are facing is constantly evolving and that’s why we believe that investing heavily in R&D is the key to offering the best protection, not only today but also in the future,” said Mr. Marko. “The reason ESET is so active in the Montréal community is that we believe we have a responsibility to develop the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.”
“We are delighted that ESET has decided to expand its operations in Montréal,” said Hubert Bolduc, President and CEO of Montréal International. ”This further confirms the many advantages that our city offers high-technology companies looking to grow their businesses and increase their presence on global markets, including a welcoming business environment and pool of highly-skilled talent.”
ESET supports various student associations interested in cybersecurity, such as Polyhack at Polytechnique Montréal and the Délégation des Compétitions Informatiques at the École des technologie supérieure, by providing funding and internship opportunities. It also supports Northsec, a not-for-profit applied security event that brings together students and security professionals for a week of trainings, technical conferences and a computer security competition.
About ESET (www.eset.com)
Since 1987, ESET® has been developing award-winning security software that now helps over 100 million users to Enjoy Safer Technology. Its broad security product portfolio covers all popular platforms and provides businesses and consumers around the world with the perfect balance of performance and proactive protection. The company has a global sales network covering more than 200 countries and territories, and regional offices in Bratislava, San Diego, Singapore, Buenos Aires, Toronto and Montréal.
