Cisco snaps up ThreatGrid for advanced security
Networking vendor builds out security portfolio for Internet of Things concept
As it grows beyond its legacy as a networking company and turns its sights on becoming a total IT solutions vendor, Cisco Systems has had to ramp up its security portfolio.
A big step came last autumn when Cisco spent nearly $3bn to purchase SourceFire, a move that helped shore up its Advanced Malware Protection portfolio.
Another shoe dropped this week when the vendor announced it would acquire New York-based malware analysis and threat intelligence specialist ThreatGrid for an undisclosed sum.
The move is an effort to further bolster Cisco's security capabilities at a time when the company is pushing hard to provide the infrastructure underpinnings in a number of emerging technology spaces including cloud computing and the so-called Internet of Things.
ThreatGrid's offerings, which work on-premise or in the cloud, should improve Cisco's ability to helps organisations and security teams defend and respond to advanced cyber attacks and malware outbreaks, according to Hilton Romanski, senior vice president and head of business development at Cisco.
"There's no question that security is a top priority for organisations and the threat landscape is more dynamic than ever," Romanski write in a blog post announcing the deal.
"Given the explosion in the amount of information being created and exchanged, driven by mobility, cloud computing, and the Internet of Everything, the number of cyber attacks will continue to increase-and with greater speed and complexity.
"The combination of Cisco and ThreatGrid will enhance our already strong capabilities to aggregate and correlate data to identify advanced and evasive cyber threats and provide intelligent cybersecurity solutions for the real world."
ThreatGrid co-founder and CTO Dean Dean De Beer said he hopes in the wake of the Cisco acquisition, people see his firm's technology as more than "just another sandbox".
"While our static and dynamic analysis engines are core to the production of all the content and artifacts we provide to our users, they're only one part of a system built to empower users and solve their security challenges," De Beer wrote.
"ThreatGrid's public and private cloud sandboxing combines dynamic and static malware analysis with threat analytics to produce continuous, real-time threat intelligence, enriched by global and historical context.
"We both strongly believe that ThreatGrid can play an integral part in realizing Cisco's security strategy."
The deal for ThreatGrid is expected to close in Q4.
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