Trustwave Buys Vericept for Data Loss Prevention

Security vendor Trustwave is buying its way into the data loss prevention space with the acquisition of Vericept.

The financial details of the deal are under wraps. However, officials at Trustwave say the buy combines Vericept’s data loss prevention (DLP) technology with Trustwave’s portfolio of managed security and compliance services.

“We’ve developed a leading DLP technology for scanning and detecting sensitive information and mitigating risk based on policy requirements,” said Dave Parkinson, former CEO of Vericept, who will become Trustwave’s general manager of security services, in a statement. “Our DLP solutions ensure that a business’ sensitive data or competitive intelligence is not lost or leaked, compliance is enforced and brand equity is protected."

It has been awhile since there was an acquisition in the DLP market. Back in 2007 and 2008, security companies from Symantec to Trend Micro to Sophos all acquired DLP vendors. Though somewhat late to the DLP acquisition game, the buy will add a new type of expertise to Trustwave, opined Paul Roberts, an analyst with The 451 Group.

“The 451 Group believes concerns about data security and leak prevention are central to both regulatory compliance and network security,” he said in a statement. “Trustwave’s acquisition of Vericept will allow it to marry Vericept’s expertise in inspecting data flows to and from the endpoint and on the network with Trustwave’s broad portfolio of managed security products and compliance offerings.”

At the core of Vericept’s DLP product is its patented Content Analysis Engine, which analyzes content against policy and helps detect and classify structured and unstructured content. This technology also extends to data-in-motion to address Web 2.0 threats by identifying the use of applications such as blogs, social networking sites and Webmail to accurately identify and control sensitive data, officials said.

“We’re very excited to offer our customers a leading DLP solution that can manage sensitive data, scale to meet expanding business requirements and maintain high performance as business continues in real time,” said Robert J. McCullen, Trustwave’s CEO, in a statement. “Vericept’s DLP technology complements our current portfolio of security solutions offered to our global customer base.”