Facebook announced that it will be acquiring PrivateCore, a server security company, in a bid to better protect user data.
The definite terms of the acquisition deal, however, were not disclosed.
PrivateCore develops software for the authentication and security of server data. The company's software safeguards servers from all forms of cyber-attacks, which include unauthorized access, malware and malicious hardware.
Facebook will greatly benefit from using PrivateCore's software, with the fact that the company uses tens of thousands of its own servers. Facebook has over 1 billion active users per month, meaning that much data that passes through the company's servers can be compromised if Facebook does not use the appropriate protection measures.
"Facebook has done more than any company to connect the world, and we want to use our secure server technology to help make the world's connections more secure," wrote PrivateCore CEO Oded Horovitz on the company's website.
Horovitz also said that the two companies share the mission of connecting the world to each other securely, and PrivateCore will have the opportunity to continue its business in a channel that will have great impact worldwide.
"PrivateCore and Facebook share a vision of a more connected, secure world," said a spokesperson for Facebook.
The spokesperson added that Facebook is planning to incorporate the technology of PrivateCore onto the server stack of Facebook for added security for its users.
Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead said that Facebook is attempting to increase the might of its security systems so that it will be more difficult for hackers to gain access into the data of the social network's users.
The Gabriel Consulting Group analyst Dan Olds said that Facebook's acquisition of PrivateCore shows the company's commitment to improving its security measures. The particular attribute that enticed Facebook to acquire PrivateCore is hard to trace though, as the company boasts of an expansive range of features for online security.
"However, I did notice that they have encryption mechanisms that work with data while it is being processed - as opposed to encryption that is in place only when data is at rest or being moved. This might have Facebook moving to a higher level of account protection down the road," Olds said.
Joe Sullivan, the chief security officer for Facebook, lauded the acquisition, noting the additional security that PrivateCore's technology will provide to Facebook and its billions of users.
