AT&T will acquire the privately held cybersecurity company AlienVault, the companies announced Tuesday. Terms of the deal were undisclosed, but the transaction is expected to close before the end of 2018.
Based in San Mateo, Calif., AlienVault offers tools to detect and respond to security threats through its Unified Security Management platform, plus an online platform known as Open Threat Exchange, where researchers and security professionals can share their findings on threat data. The company has raised about $120 million since its start in 2007, VentureBeat reports.
The acquisition will allow AT&T to strengthen its security solutions portfolio for small- and medium-sized businesses. According to a study by the Ponemon Institute, more than 60% of these sized businesses suffered a cyber attack in 2017, up from 55% in 2016.
“The current threat landscape has shifted this from a luxury for some, to a requirement for all,” said Thaddeus Arroyo, CEO of AT&T Business, in a statement. “AlienVault’s expertise in threat intelligence will improve our ability to help organizations detect and respond to cybersecurity attacks. Together, with our enterprise-grade detection, response and remediation capabilities, we’re providing scalable, intelligent, affordable security for business customers of all sizes.”
PRNewswire reports that IDC MarketScape labels AT&T a leader in global security services, as the company has looked to make cybersecurity a top focus.
“We’re thrilled to join forces with AT&T. They bring a robust cybersecurity portfolio with an industry-leading technology ecosystem,” said Barmak Meftah, president and CEO of AlienVault in a statement. “This deal accelerates our ability to deliver on the AlienVault mission, which is to democratize threat detection and response to companies of all sizes.”
The announcement of this deal comes just weeks after AT&T merged with Time Warner and AppNexus as well.