Proofpoint to Acquire Emerging Threats For $40 Million

Proofpoint (PFPT) has reached a definitive agreement to acquire open source cyber threat intelligence provider Emerging Threats for approximately $40 million in cash and stock.

The cloud-based security and compliance solutions provider said it plans to integrate Emerging Threats’ advanced threat intelligence with its existing Targeted Attack Protection and Threat Response security solutions.

“Emerging Threats’ threat intelligence is very complementary to Proofpoint’s threat intelligence,” David Knight, Proofpoint’s executive vice president and general manager of information security products, told Talkin’ Cloud. “Emerging Threats’ vision, strategy and technology around cloud-based threat intelligence collection and analysis is extremely well aligned with Proofpoint’s cloud-based vision and complement our existing capabilities and investments.”

Ken Gramley, Emerging Threat’s CEO, will become vice president of Emerging Threats for Proofpoint after the acquisition is finalized. Also, Emerging Threats’ sales team, software engineers and threat researchers will join Proofpoint and continue to operate from the Emerging Threats headquarters in Indianapolis.

So what does the acquisition mean for Proofpoint, Emerging Threats and both companies’ respective customers? Proofpoint CEO Gary Steele said he believes that Proofpoint and Emerging Threats together can deliver “the most timely, actionable end-to-end attack intelligence and protection available in the industry.”

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Proofpoint noted that Emerging Threats’ systems gather millions of malware samples and other global threat indicators per day to develop intelligence about advanced cybercriminal malware distribution and command and control (C&C) infrastructure, and ultimately, could help Proofpoint extend its solutions for detecting and responding to advanced threats.

Additionally, the combination of Proofpoint’s big data platform with Emerging Threats’ advanced threat analytics systems, Proofpoint said, will enable customers to better detect and respond to cyber attacks.

Proofpoint said it will continue to support Emerging Threats’ suite of threat intelligence products as well.

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