Symantec acquires Mi5, expands security offerings
Company has bought Web security appliance maker Mi5 and plans to announce two new enterprise suites at the RSA conference.
Updated 9:40 a.m. PDT April 21 with Symantec CEO comment from keynote.
SAN FRANCISCO--Symantec has acquired Web security firm Mi5 Networks and announced two new security suites at the RSA security conference on Tuesday.
Mi5 sells a Web security appliance that protects corporations against Web-based threats. Symantec will integrate the technology into its offerings later in 2009 and offer it as a stand-alone product, Joan Fazio, director of product marketing for Symantec Endpoint Security, said in an interview.
The all-cash transaction was completed in March, she said, declining to disclose the terms.
The company also is announcing Symantec Protection Suite Small Business Edition, Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition, which is part of that suite, and a separate Symantec Protection Suite Enterprise Edition, all scheduled to be available in the summer.
The Protection Suite Small Business Edition suite offers protection against malware and spam and helps companies quickly recover their client systems. Protection Suite Enterprise Edition includes messaging and endpoint security, as well as system backup and recovery technologies.
Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition includes built-in tools like a client installation wizard and a streamlined user interface to simply deployment.
Over the long term, Symantec is working on reputation-based technology that automatically figures out whether applications can be trusted, Symantec Chief Executive Enrique Salem said during a keynote.
"Software that is less than 30 days old and has not been used should not be allowed to run, for example," he said.