Akamai, ZeroFox To Acquire Cybersecurity Companies

In other security M&A news, Forcepoint is reportedly considering the sale of its government cybersecurity division.

Ahead of a major cybersecurity industry conference next week, details emerged Wednesday on M&A activity from three notable companies in the space.

Akamai Technologies and ZeroFox both unveiled agreements to acquire cybersecurity companies, while a report suggested that Forcepoint is considering the sale of its government cybersecurity division. The disclosures came as cybersecurity industry news ramps up overall ahead of the 2023 RSA Conference in San Francisco next week.

[Related: 10 Key Cybersecurity Acquisition Deals In Q1 2023]

Akamai unveiled an agreement to acquire a startup in the API security space, Neosec, to bolster its portfolio of offerings in application and API security. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Neosec has raised $20.7 million in funding since it was founded in 2020. The startup’s team, including founders Giora Engel and Ziv Sivan, are expected to join Akamai, the company said in a news release. Neosec has 40 employees, located in Israel and the U.S., the startup said in an email to CRN.

Security threats to APIs have emerged as a major new area of focus in the cybersecurity industry amid the growth in usage of APIs by the increasing number of organizations that offer their own software. Gartner has reportedly predicted that by 2025, more than half of data theft incidents will be attributable to insecure practices around APIs.

Meanwhile, ZeroFox, which focuses on shutting down major cyberthreats that originate externally such as targeted phishing, unveiled a deal Wednesday to acquire LookingGlass Cyber Solutions for $26 million.

Founded in 2009, LookingGlass offers external attack surface management as well as global threat intelligence, and its CEO is Bryan Ware, a former assistant director at CISA (the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency). Ware will join the executive team at ZeroFox in connection with the acquisition, according to a news release.

The combination of companies will aid ZeroFox in its efforts to offer an “end-to-end platform” in securing the external attack surface for customers, the company said.

Also Wednesday Reuters reported that Forcepoint is considering selling off its government security division, potentially for a price of more than $2 billion.

Since January 2021, Forcepoint has been owned by Francisco Partners, a private equity firm that acquired the company from Raytheon.

Forcepoint is exploring the sale of its government-focused cybersecurity business to focus on its commercial efforts, specifically around serving large companies, according to the Reuters report. CRN has reached out to Forcepoint for comment.