Internet of Things security company ForeScout Technologies is acquiring operational technology network protection company SecurityMatters for $113 million in cash. This acquisition is expected to bolster ForeScout’s leadership position in agentless device visibility and control across the extended enterprise with expanded capabilities and advanced features for securing operational technology and industrial environments.
“ForeScout’s acquisition of SecurityMatters is a natural fit as it takes us deeper into a market where we have an established foothold and are seeing explosive customer demand,” said ForeScout’s CEO and president Michael DeCesare in a statement. “SecurityMatters’ technology and talent will accelerate our success in securing OT, expand our total addressable market and reinforce our solution as the industry’s only, end-to-end agentless device visibility and control platform.”
Several recent cyber attacks like WannaCry, NotPetya, and Triton have demonstrated how vulnerable operational technology networks can cause significant business disruptions and financial losses. As IT and operational technology is driving interconnectivity, it is also causing new risks for enterprises since networks may no longer be segregated from the IT network. According to a Forrester report, 79% of organizations with a SCADA/ICS network have actually suffered a breach within the last couple of years.
“Virtually every company with OT needs to rethink its cybersecurity strategy,” added SecurityMatters founder and CEO Damiano Bolzoni. “After partnering with ForeScout for the last year, it became clear that we shared the same vision. Now as a single company, we will be able to accelerate our momentum and create the industry’s first capability to truly segment IT and OT environments.”
Founded in 2009, SecurityMatters provides organizations with device visibility and continuous network monitoring. And SecurityMatters’ solutions protect networks from a wide range of threats as it utilizes a library of over 1,600 Industrial Control System (ICS) specific threat indicators. Prior to getting acquired by ForeScout, SecurityMatters raised $5 million in funding.
