OPAQ Networks Strengthens Security Service with Drawbridge Acquisition

PRESS RELEASE

HERNDON, Va. – May 11, 2017 – OPAQ Networks has acquired Drawbridge Networks, a provider of micro-segmentation solutions, boosting the company’s intellectual property, expanding its customer footprint, and enhancing its customers’ ability to identify, monitor, and defend against cyberattacks. This was OPAQ’s second acquisition of 2017, and builds on the previous acquisition of Bat Blue Networks; terms of the Drawbridge deal were not disclosed. 

Perimeter security is a must-have for all organizations, serving as the front-line of defense against intruders targeting sensitive data and systems. In recent years, attackers have become increasingly sophisticated, employing techniques that bypass traditional defenses. As a result, organizations have had to enhance the defense of their internal networks by protecting their east-west traffic. This is where micro-segmentation can help. Micro-segmentation allows fine-grained security policies to be assigned to specific users and workloads. Using micro-segmentation, a company can automatically quarantine malicious activity before it advances laterally within a network.

OPAQ is integrating Drawbridge’s micro-segmentation technology into its security-as-a-service platform, which delivers robust security capabilities in a single cloud-based service, one that organizations can turn on and scale instantly. Drawbridge’s technology augments OPAQ’s existing service offering by deploying software agents on network endpoints, such as laptops and servers. These agents communicate with a central controller, which can be accessed and managed through OPAQ’s customer portal, providing users with greater visibility and control over who accesses assets on their network, how they do it, and for what purpose.

“We’ve been working with several organizations that had real concerns around insider threats and supply chain risks,” says John Terrill, CEO of Drawbridge Networks. “Most organizations’ internal networks are fairly flat. Using our approach to micro-segmentation significantly reduced their attack surface and let them see and shut down attacks.”

“This acquisition not only sets OPAQ further apart from other security-as-a-service providers,” says OPAQ Networks CEO Glenn Hazard, “it perpetuates our vision of transforming how security is delivered – from the cloud, in a way that empowers customers to reduce risk, cost and product fatigue.”

Drawbridge Networks was founded in 2014 by cybersecurity veterans John Terrill and Tom Cross, who set out to deliver a unique approach to network micro-segmentation that would allow organizations to learn, detect and automatically respond to internal attacks. The company, which raised $1.7 million in seed financing, has employees in Atlanta and New York. Along with their Drawbridge colleagues, Terrill and Cross have joined the OPAQ organization. Terrill has taken the role of Chief Information Security Officer and Cross becomes OPAQ’s Chief Technology Officer.