News
Sophos Adds Advanced Machine Learning to Its Next-Generation Endpoint Protection Portfolio
February 2017 by Marc Jacob
Sophos announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Invincea, a visionary provider of next-generation malware protection. Invincea’s endpoint security portfolio is designed to detect and prevent unknown malware and sophisticated attacks via its patented deep learning neural-network algorithms. It has been consistently ranked as among the best performing machine learning, signature-less next-generation endpoint technologies in third-party testing and rated highly both for high detection and low false-positive rates.
Headquartered in Fairfax, Va., Invincea was founded by chief executive officer Anup Ghosh to address the rapidly growing zero-day security threat from nation states, cyber criminals and rogue actors. Invincea’s flagship product X by Invincea uses deep learning neural networks and behavioral monitoring to detect previously unseen malware and stops attacks before damage occurs. With a focus on the U.S. government, healthcare and financial services sectors, Invincea has been deployed in some of the most targeted networks in the world.
Sophos is recognized as a leader in endpoint protection today with an expanding set of next-generation technologies such as the signature-less anti-malware, anti-exploit and anti-ransomware technology in Intercept X and the behavior-based analytics, Malicious Traffic Detection and Application Reputation in Sophos Endpoint Protection.The Invincea machine learning malware detection and prevention technology will be fully integrated into the Sophos endpoint protection portfolio, further strengthening Sophos’ leadership in this fast-growing market. The availability of Invincea technology through the Sophos Central security management platform will further enhance the Sophos synchronized security portfolio and real-time intelligence sharing.
The Invincea endpoint security portfolio including X by Invincea will continue to be supported and sold by Invincea and available via Invincea’s network of registered partners.
Sophos has agreed to acquire Invincea from its current shareholders for a cash consideration of $100 million with a $20 million earn-out. Sophos will retain the company’s office in Fairfax. Invincea CEO Anup Ghosh and COO Norm Laudermilch will join Sophos in key leadership positions. Consummation of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of various closing conditions. Invincea Labs, a division of Invincea that has been separately managed and operated since 2012,has been separated prior to the acquisition and is not part of this transaction.
