Palo Alto Networks Splashes £85 Million On Behavioural Analytics Firm LightCyber

Palo Alto Networks has splashed the cash by acquiring behavioural analytics security firm LightCyber for $105 million (£85m).

LightCyber uses machine learning to identify attacks based on behavioural anomalies inside networks and the plan is for its technology to be integrated into Palo Alto’s security platform by the end of the calendar year.

Until then, LightCyber products will continue to be offered as usual and support will still be available for existing customer implementations.

Cash buy

“The LightCyber team’s vision to bring automation and machine learning to bear in addressing the very difficult task of identifying otherwise undetected and often very sophisticated attacks inside the network is well-aligned with our platform approach,” said Mark McLaughlin, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks.

“This technology will complement the existing automated threat prevention capabilities of our platform to help organisations not only improve but also scale their security protections to prevent cyber breaches.”

Gonen Fink, CEO of LightCyber added: “We are pleased to join the Palo Alto Networks team, combining our technology innovations and accelerating adoption of behavioural analytics to help organisations bolster their defenses against the advanced and sophisticated adversaries they are facing today.”

The news comes just hours after Palo Alto’s shares dropped dramatically following a weaker-than-expected second quarter performance. Shares were down nearly 17 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday, as revenue came in at $7 million less than analyst expectations.

The LightCyber acquisition is in a similar vein to HPE’s recent purchase of threat detection specialist Niara and should be seen as a good move for Palo Alto considering the growing prominence of predictive, analytics-based technology (sometimes referred to as ‘next-gen) in the security sector.

What has become abundantly clear is that, despite all the effort, we are still losing the cyber battle and the widespread adoption of this type of technology will likely play a large role in a much-needed cyber security revolution.

Quiz: The world of cyber security in 2017