Two cyber startups join forces
By
Nick Wakeman
Two startups with technology in growing niches of the cyber world have joined forces.
Two startups operating in growing niches of the cyber technology world have come together with OPAQ Networks' acquisition of Drawbridge Networks.
Drawbridge Networks has worked to build solutions around micro-segmentation, which is the use of security policies assigned to specific users and workloads. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This is an emerging area of cybersecurity that puts a focus on internal networks and how traffic moves across an organization.
This is the second deal of 2017 for OPAQ, which launched via its acquisition of Bat Blue Networks in January. OPAQ started with $21 million from venture capital groups Columbia Capital, Harmony Partners and Zero-G Inc.
OPAQ’s focus is on building cloud-based network security solutions. Drawbridge’s technology will be integrated into OPAQ’s security-as-a-service platform, the company said.
The micro-segmentation technology deploys software agents on network endpoints such as laptops and servers. Agents then communicate with a central controller to provide more visibility and control over assets on the network, the company said.
“This acquisition not only sets OPAQ further apart from other security-as-a-service providers,” said OPAQ Networks CEO Glenn Hazard. "It perpetuates our vision of transforming how security is delivered – from the cloud, in a way that empowers customers to reduce risk, cost and product fatigue.”
Drawbridge also is a startup and was founded in 2014 by John Terrill and Tom Cross. Terrill has taken the role of chief information security officer at OPAQ and Cross becomes chief technology officer.