F-Secure makes every digital moment more secure by delivering brilliantly simple, frictionless security experiences that make life easier for the tens of millions of people they protect and their 200+ partners. Pulse 2.0 interviewed F-Secure’s VP of Embedded Security Business, Dmitri Vellikok, to learn more about the company.
Dmitri Vellikok’s Background
Could you tell me more about your background? Vellikok said:
“I’ve been with F-Secure for about 16 years. Prior to F-Secure, I was with IBM and had a commercial/technical background. I’ve had various roles since I joined F-Secure, starting from technical sales, then moving to global business development and product management. About 10 years ago, I moved to the U.S. to run technical sales within North America. From there, I moved into a leadership position, where I am now.”
“I’m responsible for leading our embedded security product portfolio. This portfolio is made up of security components (scam protection, identity protection, malware protection, credit monitoring, etc.) that our partners can combine within their own applications to create unique security offerings and value propositions for their customers. My primary responsibility is to work closely with our sales teams and industry partners. Alongside this, I lead a product management team of close to 10 people who are each responsible for their key areas of expertise with various products within the product line.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Vellikok reflected:
“I would say I have two. The first was when we invented our router security solution. At that time, around 2017-2018, consumer-focused security solutions primarily protected endpoint devices (laptops, phones, tablets, etc.) We wanted to find a way to protect all the devices in the household, such as IoT devices, smart TVs, refrigerators and more. We technically invented the router security solution, which protects all the devices connected to your household. Because of F-Secure, people are protected from various malicious threats, bad links, botnets, and other malicious activities that could use their smart and IoT devices as a threat vector. I worked very closely on that project and played a part in signing some of the first customers for this, and it was exciting to create something completely new for the market.”
“The second was close to three years ago during the demerger, when F-Secure split into two separate businesses, one (F-Secure) serving consumers, and the other (WithSecure) serving enterprises. I was part of the decision-making team that planned, executed, and oversaw the dividing of the company, ensuring its success.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Vellikok explained:
“While we offer consumer cyber security solutions, we are a partner-first company. Therefore, everything we build goes to market primarily through our valued partners in telecommunications, financial services, and other industries.”
“If we look at our partner product portfolio, there are two segments. First, we have our own built-in solutions, endpoint security, router security, and network-based security, which are provided as our own applications. Partners can personalize these pre-built apps to their own brand and offer them to their subscriber base, which is an easy go-to-market model.”
“The second is our wide collection of SDKs and APIs. Partners can pick and choose which SDKs and APIs they want to embed into their own application, creating a security offering unique to both their GTM model and the needs of their customers.”
“There are a few key areas we focus on when developing our products. These include online security, identity management, and of course, scam protection. Scams are one of the biggest digital threats to consumers today, so we’re committed to protecting consumers against these with innovative solutions that protect them when and where they need it most, for example, our SMS scam protection, banking and shopping protection, and more.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Vellikok and the team face in building the company? Vellikok acknowledged:
“I think one of the biggest challenges facing the consumer cybersecurity industry is end-user behavior. What we’ve seen is that consumers often find cyber security too complex, and many solutions put too much onus on the end user to take action to protect themselves. Plus, there are so many different protection factors to keep on top of that it’s difficult for customers to know how they should protect themselves. There are VPNs, identity protection, malware protection, online security, shopping protection, mobile protection and browsing protection. It’s overwhelming and can be hard for consumers to narrow down what is relevant for them. So, we are tackling this by bringing all these things together, making protection simple and seamless.”
“Another challenge is trying to get customers to take the services they’re provided with into use. This stems from the first problem. For example, we know that many end users buy security products but fail to activate them, so they’re unprotected. To combat this, we work very closely with our partners to ensure effective communication about activation to their end customers, meaning they get the most from the protection they pay for.”
Evolution Of F-Secure’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching and what have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Vellikok cited:
“F-Secure was founded back in 1988, so we’ve seen our fair share of development in that time! In the 90s, threats were primarily on desktop devices, such as PCs, Macs, etc. I’d say the first big milestone was the spike in demand for cyber security at the end of the 90s when malware viruses started spreading from one device to another over wider networks. So of course, we had to adapt our offering to protect consumers in this new landscape.”
“I think the second milestone was in the early 2000s when we decided that operators, or communication service providers, would be our key go-to-market channel, rather than focusing our efforts direct-to-consumer as some of our competitors were. In our eyes, it was logical that operators would be a key provider of protection for their customers, particularly as communications technology evolves.”
“A third major milestone for us was the introduction of mobile devices. We started early on with Symbian phones. We were the first company to have a mobile Antivirus for Symbian about a year before the first malware showed up on Symbian phones. Then, we rode the wave when iOS and Android were introduced, and people realized that these devices need protection, in the same way their laptops and desktops do. Similarly, another key moment for us was the introduction of the router security I mentioned earlier. As IoT and smart device use has evolved, so has the need for the protection of these.”
“Finally, is the one that everybody is talking about now: AI. From a cyber security perspective, AI is a double-edged sword. It will make threats more sophisticated and harder to detect, but on the plus side, it enables more advanced protections. I feel it also has the potential to help customers understand the value of cyber security.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Vellikok assessed:
“From a US perspective, essentially every household is a potential end user, so we have a very large TAM.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Vellikok pointed out:
“As I mentioned, we are doubling down on scam protection, as we see it as being an essential protection area for consumers today. We have invested heavily into this area this year, and this will continue into 2025 and beyond. From a product perspective, we will continue to innovate and introduce new capabilities as the scam threat landscape evolves, and we already have some interesting developments on the horizon.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Vellikok concluded:
“F-Secure is widely considered the gold standard for B2B2C consumer cyber security solutions in the operator market, but I’d also highlight that we work with a lot of financial services providers too. In Europe, we work with Allianz, and we’re looking to establish similar relationships in the US. You can find out more about the solutions we offer per vertical on our website: https://www.f-secure.com/en/partners.”
“Additionally, a major competitive advantage is that all our products and solutions work together. Regardless of what products the partners or the end users take from us, they’re all part of the same platform and same customer entity. It’s also very easy for our partners to take them into use because we’re doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to the integrations and all the kind of IT work that goes into deploying these types of solutions and putting them to the market. Really, a lot of our work only starts once the solution goes live because then we provide a lot of help to our partners in the way of how to position the solution, how to sell it better, what kind of messaging to push to the end users, and so forth. I think that kind of white-glove service towards our valued partners is really what helps us stand out, and in turn helps our partners succeed in protecting their customers.”
