RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – IBM will bolster its cybersecurity efforts as the company is set to buy Randori, a Boston-area attack surface management provider. The company described the acquisition as a “further bet.”
A statement from IBM described the acquisition as one that would help the company “further simplify threat detection and response,” and aligned with another recent acquisition. Once closed, the transaction will enable IBM to integrate Randori’s software into IBM Security QRadar.
Randori, which IBM’s statement describes as an “offensive cybersecurity provider,” assists its clients to identify, continuously, any external-facing assets visible to potential attackers.
“Our clients today are faced with managing a complex technology landscape of accelerating cyberattacks targeted at applications running across a variety of hybrid cloud environments – from public clouds, private clouds and on-premises,” said Mary O’Brien, General Manager, IBM Security, in the statement. “In this environment, it is essential for organizations to arm themselves with attacker’s perspective in order to help find their most critical blind spots and focus their efforts on areas that will minimize business disruption and damages to revenue and reputation.”
This is the fourth acquisition of the year for IBM, the company said in its statement. These acquisitions, and many of the more than 20 acquisitions made since Arvind Krishna became the company’s CEO in April 2020, strengthen the company’s “hybrid cloud and AI skills and capabilities, including in cybersecurity,” the statement reads.
And IBM called the latest deal a bet in a blog post that is cited in the company’s statement.
That blog post reads: “Today, IBM Security is making a further bet that cybersecurity must go on the offensive to protect the cloud, with security capabilities to help clients of all sizes better see what attackers see, before the damage is done.”
Attackers know how to attack
“We started Randori to ensure every organization has access to the attacker’s perspective,” said Brian Hazzard, co-founder and CEO at Randori, in the statement. “By joining forces with IBM, we can greatly accelerate this vision and strategy – leveraging IBM’s deep expertise in AI, threat intelligence, offensive security and global reach.”
Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close at some point during the next few months, the company statement noted, though the deal is subject to “customary closing conditions and any required regulatory reviews.”
Randori is described in the blog post as a “hacker-led company” and the company’s name comes from a jiu-jitsu term that can be understood as “practice how you fight.”
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