Palo Alto Networks buys Cyvera
California-based security software maker Palo Alto Networks recently announced its acquisition of Cyvera, a privately-owned Israeli cyber security company for $200 million. The intent of the purchase is to expand Palo Alto's product offerings that protect companies from cyber attacks.
According to a press release from Palo Alto, Cyvera's software, which protects users against unknown, zero-day attacks, would help a larger number of customers shield themselves from threats on any device, across multiple networks. Zero-day cyber attacks work by exploiting a vulnerability in a computer system that is only known to the attacker.
"The combination of Cyvera, our next-generation firewall, and our next-generation threat cloud represents the most innovative, integrated, and automated enterprise security platform in the market," Palo Alto said in a press release. "[…] Our two companies have had a longstanding relationship that's only going to grow as we bring our technologies together to offer the most effective approach to protecting you from the most advanced cyber attacks."
Palo Alto's proprietary hardware and software works by detecting data threats as they enter an enterprise environment. These issues usually come in the form of malware. The company has set itself apart from many of its competitors by focusing not only on threats that come from email or web browsing, but also on more modern criminal techniques like phishing.
The purchase of Cyvera marks the second technology acquisition for Palo Alto Networks in 2014. In January the company purchased Morta Security, a startup founded by former employees of the National Security Agency (NSA). Details of that deal were never released to the public. Both purchases suggest that Palo Alto Networks is looking to provide cyber security solutions on a larger scale.