Security software specialist Sophos has bought an Irish start-up in security products, Barricade, to strengthen its security capabilities and next-generation network and endpoint protection portfolio, it says.
Barricade’s developers and data scientists have created a technology platform that, according to a company, may significantly enhance the ability to identify suspicious behaviour thanks to its behaviour-based analytics. The technology is also expected to keep up with the growth of sophisticated attack patterns. Under the terms of a deal, Sophos will keep Barricade’s Cork office in Ireland while the company’s CEO along with a team of developers, data scientists and engineers will join Sophos Cloud Group and will be reporting to the general manager and senior vice president of the Sophos Cloud Security Group, Bill Lucchini.
“Barricade has an impressive team of experts in data science and machine learning, and they share the Sophos vision for security made simple. Delivering advanced protection to partners and customers without adding layers of complexity is at the core of our product strategy. Enterprise-grade security should be available to all organisations, and the acquisition of Barricade will accelerate the next phase of synchronised security innovation across the Sophos Central management platform,” Lucchini says.
“We share the same development philosophy as Sophos – IT security can be complex but managing security products shouldn’t be. We are proud of the technology we have built and are pleased to join the team at Sophos focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning based security analytics. Driving the development of our technology into a comprehensive security solution that every IT professional can use presents us with the next phase in our exciting journey,” David Coallier, CEO at Barricade, adds.