Fresh off its divestiture from General Dynamics [GD] earlier this month, Fidelis Cybersecurity on Tuesday said it has acquired endpoint detection and response solutions firm Resolution1 Security, complementing its network security platform to provide end-to-end cyber threat defense.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Peter George, CEO of Fidelis, told Defense Daily that Resolution1 adds 50 employees to Fidelis’ 200 employee base.
Fidelis’ roots are in network security through its XPS platform and for endpoint security it has traditionally partnered with endpoint companies like Bit9+Carbon Black, Digital Guardian, and others to integrate network and endpoint security to give its customers visibility on both the network and endpoint, George said.
But without owning the endpoint technology the integrated solutions with different partners isn’t as optimal as having the capability in house so the past two years Fidelis has “worked to be the leader in comprehensive advance threat defense and from our perspective…that includes both network and endpoint,” which is why the company acquired Resolution1, George said. Resolution1 is considered a best-in-class provider by the technology research firm Gartner, Inc. [IT], he said.
With the acquisition, Fidelis can “now extend that deep visibility into applications, content and malware, not just at the perimeter of the network but right to the endpoint,” George said. “So we’re really excited about that.”
Peter Chung, a principal with the private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners, which owns Fidelis, said in a statement that “Resolution1’s continuous and automated endpoint threat detection and remediation engine addresses one of the largest issues in cyber security today, the disproportionate number of incidents that security analysts must manually respond to in the enterprise.”
George said the partnering strategy won’t change in that companies and customers that already have existing endpoint solutions, Fidelis will continue to integrate its network security solution with them. Where customers don’t have an endpoint solution, Fidelis can “give them more value by giving them a full solution,” he said.
As for potential future acquisitions, George said Fidelis Marlin will continue to weigh buy-versus-build equation in expanding its capabilities. There are “some areas where we can either build it ourselves or go make some acquisitions” based on customer needs, he said.
The demand for cyber security capabilities continues to expand, George said. By the end of 2015, he expects the company to have 300 employees to meet this demand.
Fidelis has customers in the commercial and government markets. George said that most of Resolution1’s customers are commercial but that Fidelis plans to bring its endpoint capabilities into the government space.