And just like that, Qihoo 360 (QIHU.DL) is now back on Beijing's good side. In less than a month since the State Administration for Industry and Commerce warned Qihoo to refrain from "acts of unfair competition", the Ministry of Commerce today awarded Qihoo a contract to provide enterprise Internet security solutions. Under the deal, the Ministry of Commerce will install 360 Enterprise, Qihoo 360's flagship enterprise Internet security product, on all computers in its Beijing headquarters.
This isn't Qihoo's first large security contract: During London's 2012 Summer Olympics, 360 Enterprise supported the Xinhua News Agency. The company has come under fire for its using its security product to gain customers for its 360 Browser.
The warning came last month from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, which told Qihoo to stop making its security suite hard to uninstall and stop claiming fake incompatibility to keep customers from installing competitors' software.
Qihoo CEO Zhou Hongyi is elated with the new contract: "This award clearly demonstrates the quality and reliability of our enterprise Internet security products and speaks to the significant trust customers have in the Qihoo 360 brand."
