Barracuda Hooks PhishLine in Social Engineering Security Acquisition

Barracuda Networks has acquired PhishLine, a SaaS platform for social engineering simulation and training, the company announced today. The cloud security company plans to add PhishLine's tech to its security portfolio to protect against email-based targeted attacks.

Email is a prime target for attackers but difficult to protect because security relies on the human factor. Barracuda's acquisition is intended to address the social engineering threat as attacks become increasingly targeted. In addition to user awareness training, PhishLine provides data analytics and reporting for users to measure risk of both people and processes.

Barracuda has generated a wave of M&A news in recent months as it buckles down on cloud security. Last November, it purchased Sonian for cloud archiving and email security; shortly after, it expanded public cloud functionality for its Web Application Firewall and NextGen Firewall. Later the same month, it was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $1.6B.

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