Security applications maker McAfee announced June 6 that it has acquired risk management and compliance software vendor Preventsys for an undisclosed sum.
McAfee said it plans to blend Preventsys security risk management and automated compliance reporting tools with its existing enterprise products, with the aim of allowing larger customers to simplify management of their IT systems defenses.
As the United States federal government has begun auditing corporations abilities to comply with regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, companies are looking for new ways to ensure that theyre making the grade, according to McAfee. The Preventsys deal is the latest in a long string of acquisitions made by McAfee over the last several years aimed at expanding the companys ability to provide more comprehensive and centralized network security tools.
“McAfees acquisition of Preventsys fulfills a key component of our risk management and compliance strategy, which is based on helping our customers leverage their existing security technologies,” Ken Gonzalez, vice president of corporate development at McAfee, said in a statement. “With Preventsys technology, we can help our customers satisfy regulatory requirements for automated compliance reporting, while leveraging existing technologies such as McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator and Foundstone.”
Foundstone is McAfees professional services division focused specifically on testing companies security and compliance infrastructures. The unit represents the companys push to add compliance capabilities rapidly via acquisition; it was purchased outright by McAfee for $86 million in late 2004.
More recent acquisitions by McAfee include SiteAdvisor, which the company bought for an undisclosed sum in April 2006. The year-old startup rates the Web to determine if a sites content includes spyware, spam, viruses, browser-based exploits or online scams. McAfee has not yet detailed its plans to integrate SiteAdvisor with its existing product suite, but the company is believed to be adding SiteAdvisors massive database of questionable Web sites to both McAfees consumer and enterprise offerings.
Other high-profile buyouts completed by the anti-virus company in recent years include its acquisitions of Entercept, IntruVert and Wireless Security.
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