Veteran anti-spyware company Lavasoft today announced the appointment of Joseph Wells as chief technology officer. Wells, who most recently served as Chief Scientist for security research at Sunbelt Software, is well-known for his extensive career in anti-Trojan and anti-virus solutions as well as his more recent work within anti-spyware and emerging security threats.

"We are thrilled to have Joseph Wells on our management team. Wells has long been a leading innovator and visionary in the security industry, working with big names like Symantec and IBM," said Jason King, the recently appointed chief executive officer at Lavasoft. "At Lavasoft, we have extensively discussed the threat landscape for computer users and Joseph Wells is the individual that will bring us into a new era of malware detection, removal, and protection."

As CTO, Wells will lead all technical initiatives for Lavasoft, including development and research for existing solutions as well as new industry advancements.

"I am excited about joining the Lavasoft team. Although I was recently considering employment at much larger firms, I quickly realized that Lavasoft clearly stands apart," Wells said after signing on. "Because of their all-too-rare qualities of efficiency, enthusiasm and commitment, I believe Lavasoft is ideally positioned, and quite able, to propel anti-malware technologies well into the next generation of security solutions."

Malware today behaves dramatically different than when it appeared in the late 90's, taking on complex and sophisticated forms including hybrids of viruses and spyware. According to Wells, "I have not been given just a job at Lavasoft. Rather, I have been given a rare opportunity to help in making a very real difference in how we, the anti-malware industry, protect users everywhere."

About Joseph Wells

Along with his widely recognized work in the security software field, Wells has authored over 60 technical articles and scientific papers. He is possibly best known as the founder for WildList Organization International, an international cooperative identifying and reporting the latest virus threats.