US cybersecurity firm Akamai Technologies will acquire Israeli cybersecurity startup Guardicore for around USD 600 million, the two companies announced in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The definitive agreement to buy the Tel Aviv-based startup will position Akamai to be “uniquely suited to provide comprehensive protections for enterprise customers and defend itself against the spread of malware and ransomware,” according to the company.
Founded in 2013 by Pavel Gurvich, Dror Sal’ee, and Ariel Zeitlin, Guardicore is a cloud and data center security company that protects organizations’ core assets using segmentation and micro-segmentation controls. The company has raised USD 106 million to date, including a USD 60 million Series C round in May 2019.
Guardicore’s micro-segmentation software is designed to limit user access to only those applications that are authorized to communicate with each other. By avoiding communication as the default, the firm can reduce risk exposure and the spread of malware, protecting enterprise data flow, the company said.
Akamai already offers a broad suite of zero trust security solutions that prevent attackers and malware on employee devices from gaining access to enterprise infrastructure and applications. Yet, the company will use Guardicore’s technology to add a second layer of defense to mitigate the impact of breaches and threats posed by ransomware.
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“Given the recent surge in ransomware attacks and increasingly stringent compliance regulations, investing in technologies to reduce the spread of malware has become mission-critical,” said Tom Leighton, CEO and co-founder of Akamai Technologies. “By adding Guardicore’s leading micro-segmentation products to Akamai’s comprehensive portfolio of zero trust solutions, we believe Akamai will be able to provide the most effective way to combat ransomware on the market.”
“Guardicore’s mission is to protect enterprises from damage caused by ransomware breaches while safeguarding the critical assets at the heart of the network,” said Pavel Gurvich, co-founder and CEO of Guardicore. “My team and I greatly look forward to joining Akamai to protect the user and the enterprise—no matter what the user is doing or where end-users and workloads are located.”
Akamai Technologies said the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The article was originally published by NoCamels, a leading news website covering breakthrough innovation from Israel for a global audience.
