Cisco acquires SaaS security vendor ScanSafe

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Cisco acquires SaaS security vendor ScanSafe

Neil Roiter, Senior Technolgy Editor, Information Security magazine

Cisco Systems Inc. announced today its acquisition of Web software-as-a-service security provider ScanSafe for $183 million, a move that could complement its appliance-based IronPort Web security gateway products.

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The announcement comes just two weeks after Barracuda Networks acquired Purewire another SaaS Web security company, which had been in business for just over a year. This leaves only Zscaler

"The competitive need is that Web content filtering makes sense to move into cloud," said John Kindervag, senior analyst for Forrester Research. "To compete Cisco would have to build their or buy to a SaaS model to integrate with their IronPort on-premise products, and Cisco would rather buy than build."

Cisco has been a player in the Web security gateway and email security markets since its acquisition of IronPort in 2007, focusing on the enterprise market with high-end appliances. But competitors have been offering host-based Web security services, which appeal to midmarket companies. These competing vendors are also selling hybrid offerings, with appliances or software at large corporate sites, and cloud-based services for remote workers and smaller branch offices.

Web security gateway in the cloud:
Barracuda acquires Purewire expanding Web security reach:
The acquisition broadens Barracuda's delivery model for URL filtering and securing Web applications through software as a service (SaaS) and hybrid approaches. 

SaaS startups enter Web security gateway market: Web security vendors Zscaler Inc., Purewire Inc. enter growing Software as a Service (SaaS) space dominated by appliance vendors.

Whitelists, SaaS modify traditional security, tackle flaws: It is time for IT professionals to transform security into a capability that is as dynamic as the attack landscape, says security expert Eric Ogren of the Ogren Group. 

"With the acquisition of ScanSafe, Cisco is executing on our vision to build a borderless network security architecture that combines network and cloud-based services for advanced security enforcement," said Tom Gillis, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Security Technology Business Unit.

The announcement

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Email and, to a lesser extent, Web filtering, have been significant in the trend to host-based security services, as more and more IT functions move to the cloud.

"I've heard that Cisco will build more cloud-based infrastructure," said Kindervag. "This would be part of a larger strategy that Cisco will try to put more services in the cloud."