14 DAY TRIAL // Secure Computing is to acquire Securify, a startup focused on identity-based monitoring solutions. The value of the acquisition is of approximately $15 million but, aside from this amount, Securify is also bound to deliver an earn-out of $5 million once the transaction takes place. The contract will probably be final by the end of the year, the two companies estimate.
The collaboration essentially aims at providing tools for the business environment, which will enable a better control over the computers in a network that are constantly threatened, because of the flaws in the current paradigm of Internet protocols.
“Old-school firewalls inspect packets and associate ports with protocols and applications, but this is inadequate for the Web 2.0 world,” said Chris Christiansen, program vice president, Security Products and Services at IDC. “Today, most Internet traffic is dynamic and applications run across multiple ports. In this dynamic environment, enterprises worry that the increasing use of Web-based applications may be responsible for leaked data, malware infections and policy violations. With this acquisition, Secure Computing now has the necessary capabilities for next-generation firewall technology that includes application inspection and user-aware access.” he explained.
Securify has always been more focused on businesses and public institutions rather than on regular end-users. The collaboration with Secure Computing could widen the targeted audience, as the number of people who rely on security products is increasing. Nowadays, end-users are as concerned with their security as any large enterprise.
“Securify sells primarily into federal government and other high-assurance markets, including financial services. This is consistent with Secure Computing's core firewall market, and will provide a significant opportunity to deliver complementary value across existing and future customers both domestically and internationally,” said Buck French, chief executive officer at Securify. “By joining forces with Secure Computing and building upon their strength and expertise in the firewall market, we are uniquely positioned to deliver a true next-generation security solution to help customers control user access and behavior while complying with today's increasing audit and policy requirements.”