Dell—Secureworks

Dell announced in January it would acquire SecureWorks, which specializes in managed security, risk assessment and threat management, for $612 million to add security to its cloud capabilities. The deal would give Dell the ability to provide security consulting and managed security services to customers as part of a larger IT as a service portfolio.

VMware bought cloud-based IT management software provider Shavlik Technologies in May. With Shavlik, VMware will be able to provide IT management functions, including asset management, security, business continuity and data protection capabilities for small and midsized businesses.

IBM in October announced its plans to buy Q1 Labs, a data-analytics software company. Q1 Labs specialized in security information and event management, the ability to gather data about what is happening in the network and correlate it to detect and flag suspicious events. Q1 Labs became part of the newly minted IBM Security Systems unit, joining other security companies Big Blue had snapped up over the years.

The security information and event management market got a jolt of energy in October when McAfee announced plans to acquire NitroSecurity on the same day IBM unveiled the Q1 Labs deal. McAfee created a new SIEM division focusing on security analytics and log management. NitroSecurity’s NitroView would be combined with McAfee’s risk and compliance capabilities.

Sophos announced plans in May to acquire unified threat management vendor Astaro. Sophos said it would offer its existing anti-malware and data protection software alongside Astaro’s appliances to provide complete data and threat protection, regardless of device type, user location and network boundaries.

Twitter acquired Whisper Systems, a two-person startup devoted to Android security software, in November. The move brought hacker Moxie Marlinspike and robotics researcher Stuart Anderson on board at the micro-blogging company. Twitter has said it would open-source the software for Android phones that secures user data, creates firewalls, and encrypts calls and texts on the device.

Check Point Software Technologies announced plans to acquire Israel-based Dynasec to expand its governance, risk-management and compliance portfolio. Dynasec’s GRC capabilities will integrate with Check Point’s security, business and consulting service to give customers the tools necessary to meet and manage regulatory requirements.

January was a busy month as Cisco joined Dell in announcing its own acquisition plans. Cisco said it would buy Pari Networks, a network configuration, change and compliance management provider. Pari’s appliances will complement Cisco’s “smart service” capabilities to monitor the health of customer networks and identify potential network problems before they occur.

Sourcefire acquired startup Immunet for $21 million in January. The combination of Sourcefire and Immunet will drive Sourcefire’s plans for cloud-based anti-malware products and expand its threat-monitoring capabilities.

Quest Software acquired access-control technology provider Bitkoo in December to add authorization capabilities to its identity and access management platform. Quest customers will be able to take advantage of a single centralized back-end system to manage security rules for multiple applications, Web services, databases and management platforms such as Sharepoint.

McAfee acquired database access and monitoring software vendor Sentrigo in March to extend its security products to include enterprise databases. McAfee said it would integrate Sentrigo’s database security technology in its ePolicy Orchestrator platform, just like it would with NitroSecurity’s NitroView software months later.

Wave Systems acquired Israel-based Safend to expand its endpoint security and encryption portfolio to include new products in removable media encryption, data leak prevention, endpoint monitoring, malware protection and mobile security. The deal gives Wave Systems opportunities to sell to industries where data protection is a high priority, such as health care, financial services and government.

??íA group of investors led by private equity firm Thoma Bravo acquired networking and security vendor Blue Coat Systems for $1.3 billion in December. When the deal closes in the first quarter of 2012, Blue Coat will become a private company.

This one is actually a bonus, as the company actually closed the deal at the end of 2010, but Motorola did not make the announcement until February. Startup Three Laws Mobility developed mobile enterprise security software and solutions and mobile device management products for Android to give IT departments the tools they need to manage Android devices within corporate environments.