Cisco Intends to Acquire Network Security Firm OpenDNS

Cisco announced its intentions to acquire OpenDNS on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. OpenDNS is a privately held security company that provides advanced threat protection for any device. The acquisition will broaden visibility and threat intelligence which will boost Cisco’s Security Everywhere approach.

By 2020, a vast new wave of opportunities for security breaches will be created due to the connection of nearly 50 billion devices made possible by the Internet of Everything. The cloud platform of OpenDNS delivers security in a Software-as-a-Service model. The model makes it quick and easy for customer to deploy and integrate the system into their defense architecture or incident response strategies. The combination of Cisco Systems and OpenDNS will enhance advanced threat protection before, during, and after an attack.

It is typically very easy to identify devices and people connected to a network making it easy to track potential security threats. However, in today’s world there is a growing number of devices, like consumer smartphones, that can connect from anywhere at any time. Enterprise IT teams have limited visibility into potential threats from unmonitored and unsecure entry points which creates tremendous security risks. Using OpenDNS’ unique predictive threat intelligence and cloud platform and mixing it with Cisco’s robust security and threat capabilities will increase awareness across the extended network, both on- and off-premise, reduce the time to detect and respond to threats, and mitigate risk of a security breach.

The OpenDNS team will join the Cisco Security Business Group organization. Cisco will pay $635 million in cash and assumed equity awards, plus retention based incentives for OpenDNS. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016.

1. david smith
2. Posted on July 3, 2015
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