American software company Symantec has announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Israeli cybersecurity startup Fireglass. The exact value of the deal has not officially been disclosed but speculation among market researchers and Israeli tech analysts estimate the figure to be around the USD 250 million mark.
Fireglass specializes in an area of digital security called ‘browser isolation’, a process which involves the creation of virtual websites that allow the user to browse content without running the risk of malware infecting their networks.
CEO of Symantec, Greg Clark, confessed that ‘browser isolation’ is a field of security that Symantec had been looking to enter for some time. According to him, healthcare providers, banks and financial institutions, telecommunication firms and government entities have been early adopters of this technology. He went on to cite a Gartner report which projected that nearly 50% of all enterprises globally would implement browser isolation by 2021.
Although the takeover of the relatively small-scale Fireglass may not attract much attention when compared to Symantec’s recent multi-billion dollar acquisitions of Blue Coat Systems and LifeLock, CEO Greg Clark believes the Israeli firm will prove to be a shrewd purchase:
While it’s what I would call a ‘tuck-in’ acquisition, it will be very valuable to us as we bring it to our customers.
The purchase of Fireglass is expected to close towards the end of Q3 this year. The deal will also increase Symantec’s presence in Israel, often considered a hotbed of cybersecurity innovation and development, where Clark said Symantec has been looking to expand for some time.