Palo Alto Networks buys Israel’s Cyvera
Palo Alto Networks, a Silicon Valley security company, has bought an Israeli cyber defence company for about $200m, in a deal that highlights the increasing mergers and acquisitions activity in the sector.
The New York-listed company, whose shares have risen almost 30 per cent so far this year, acquired Cyvera for its products, which help protect against so-called “zero day” attacks. Such cyber attacks take advantage of previously unknown software vulnerabilities.
This is the second acquisition by Palo Alto Networks this year, as one of a new generation of cyber security companies busy consolidating to take on older companies such as Intel Security and Symantec, best known for their antivirus software.
Mark McLaughlin, chief executive of Palo Alto Networks, said the addition of Cyvera allowed the company to provide security to enterprises all the way from the computer network to individual devices.
“For customers, this translates into the most sophisticated and automated threat prevention for the entire organisation,” he said.
The co-founders of Cyvera – Uri Alter and Netanel Davidi – said they were pleased to join Palo Alto Networks to improve the protections it provides on “one of the most vulnerable frontiers of cyber attacks”.
Cyvera is one of the several cyber security start-ups to come from Israel, which has about 5 to 7 per cent of the online security market because government subsidies encourage investment in the sector.
Global investment in cyber security has soared with early stage venture capital funding up by almost 60 per cent last year in anticipation of a dealmaking boom.
Shares in Palo Alto Networks fell 4.9 per cent by the close in New York.