Cisco Systems has announced another deal in the data security space, agreeing to acquire software startup CloudLock for $293 million.
CloudLock helps companies track how employees are using cloud services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Salesforce. Cisco’s other recent security acquisitions have included Lancope, OpenDNS, and Sourcefire.
“CloudLock’s unique cloud-first platform and API-based approach means that they’re able to deliver an incredibly detailed level of understanding of how users are sharing data, what’s being shared, and potential security risks associated with sensitive information that shouldn’t be distributed,” Rob Salvagno, vice president of Cisco corporate development, said in a blog post. “They do this while remaining invisible to an end user who is accessing the cloud.”
Application programming interfaces (API) are used by programmers to write code that interfaces with other software.
According to Salvagno, “CloudLock can help protect data and enforce access rules when an employee tries to access sensitive data stored in a SaaS application from an unprotected device, in a defined geography, at a specific time of the day — essentially, ‘security anywhere, anytime’ for content in the cloud.”
CloudLock was founded in 2007 by three Israelis — Gil Zimmermann, Ron Zalkind, and Tsahy Shapsa — and has raised about $35 million from backers like Bessemer Venture Partners, Salesforce’s venture funds, and Ascent Venture Partners. It will become part of a security group led by David Goeckeler, a Cisco senior vice president who also is responsible for networking products.
“Cisco is filling out its security offerings to cover more cloud tech,” Business Insider explained. “The company is also moving more heavily into software and trying to get itself into the cloud software subscription world, where its customers pay it for software on monthly and annual subscriptions.”
CloudLock’s competitors include Skyhigh Networks, CipherCloud, Netskope, and Adallom, which Microsoft acquired for $250 million in September.
