Enterprise security company Palo Alto Networks said it has acquired Silicon Valley cybersecurity startup Morta Security in a bid to provide clients with better protection against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
Morta Security has been operating in stealth mode since 2012 which means that it has not disclosed much information about itself to avoid alerting competitors about its product or activity. The company, which was founded about two years ago by former employees of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the U.S. Air Force, has been working on a technology that will allow large businesses to defend their networks from advanced cyberattacks.
By acquiring Morta, Palo Alto Networks hopes to establish itself as a leader in the industry. The experience of Morta's founders and the security technology they have developed are seen to help improve Palo Alto Networks' strategy of detecting and preventing cyberattacks before they become catastrophic.
"The acquisition of Morta Security further cements Palo Alto Networks as the leading provider of next-generation enterprise security," Palo Alto Networks said in a statement. "Morta Security brings to Palo Alto Networks a team experienced at protecting national infrastructure as well as technologies that enhance the proven detection and prevention capabilities of the Palo Alto Networks WildFireTM offering, which is already used by more than 2,400 customers."
The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed but Morta is Palo Alto Networks' first major acquisition. The deal also comes at a time the number of cyberattacks is increasing and hacking methods become more sophisticated.
In recent months, retail giant Target, as well as internet companies Twitter and Snapchat fell victims to data breaches. As these attacks increase and become more sophisticated, security companies may need to beef up their security offerings and improve their tools and one way to do this is through acquisition.
The acquisition of Morta is seen strengthening Palo Alto Networks' automation technologies to minimize risks of attacks before they happen. "The Morta team brings additional valuable threat intelligence experience and capabilities to Palo Alto Networks," said Palo Alto Networks President and CEO Mark McLaughlin. "The company's technology developments align well with our highly integrated, automated and scalable platform approach and their contributions will translate into additive threat detection and prevention benefits for our customers."
