Sophos acquires Secureworks for $859 million

Sophos has announced plans to acquire cybersecurity firm Secureworks in a deal worth $859 million as it looks to bolster its portfolio.

The deal, revealed on 21 October, will see Sophos integrate solutions from both companies to create what it described as a broader and stronger security portfolio aimed at serving businesses at the small, mid, and enterprise level.

In its statement announcing the acquisition, Sophos said it expects the deal to strengthen the wider security community by bringing two industry leaders together.

Part of this mission will include merging the two companies’ threat intelligence capabilities, which are well regarded in the industry.

According to the joint statement, the duo plan on boosting cyber resilience with their combination of security controls, AI tools, leading threat intelligence, and the combined experience of their security operatives.

Sophos will look to complement its existing strengths in managed security services and end-to-end security products with Secureworks’s security operations expertise and its Taegis platform, to provide holistic XDR and MSR solutions.

The acquisition will also see Sophos expand its current portfolio with new offerings such as identity detection and response (ITDR), next-generation SIEM capabilities, operational technology, and vulnerability risk prioritization.

“By combining complementary AI-driven security platforms powered by automated prevention, detection and response, the two organizations can deliver advanced solutions for defeating modern, persistent adversaries even faster”, the statement said.

Secureworks’ security expertise ‘perfectly aligns’ with Sophos’ cyber mission

Sophos, which itself was acquired by software investment fund Thoma Bravo for $3.9 billion, stated that its enhanced security offering made possible by the deal will give businesses the security capabilities to compete with cyber adversaries in an increasingly hostile threat landscape.

Discussing the deal, Joe Levy, CEO at Sophos, said Secureworks’ Taegis XDR platform will complement Sophos’ strengths in MDR.

“Secureworks offers an innovative, market-leading solution with their Taegis XDR platform. Combined with our security solutions and industry leadership in MDR, we will strengthen our collective position in the market and provide better outcomes for organizations of all sizes globally,” he stated.

“Secureworks’ renowned expertise in cybersecurity perfectly aligns with our mission to protect businesses from cybercrime by delivering powerful and intuitive products and services. This acquisition represents a significant step forward in our commitment to building a safer digital future for all.”

Wendy Thomas, CEO at Secureworks, added that the marriage of Secureworks’ XDR capabilities with Sophos’ endpoint, cloud, and network products will offer a robust solution to help businesses challenge threat actors.

“Our mission at Secureworks has always been to secure human progress. Sophos’ portfolio of leading endpoint, cloud, and network security solutions – in combination with our XDR-powered managed detection and response – is exactly what organizations are looking for to strengthen their security posture and collectively turn the tide against the adversary,” she explained.

“As Joe and I both believe, this transaction will strengthen our go-to-market offering with Sophos’ global scale, expertise and reputation.”

The transaction is expected to close in early 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.