McAfee Buys Foundstone; Symantec Buys @stake

Two well-known companies, Foundstone and @stake, have been purchased by industry giants, further consolidating the security market space.

McAfee announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire security consulting firm and security tool maker, Foundstone, for $86 million in cash. The companies expect the acquisition to close sometime in October. McAfee said it will continue to develop and sell the Foundstone product line, which includes Foundstone Enterprise (threat management system), the Foundstone FS1000 appliance (Windows 2000-based vulnerability management system), the Foundstone On-Demand Service (security outsourcing solution), and Foundstone Professional TL (security-analysis software).

George Samenuk, chairman and chief executive officer of McAfee said, “Chief information security officers need a comprehensive view of where their risks are and business executives need to understand how those risks can translate into business impact. Foundstone enables both. By combining Foundstone with McAfee’s leading intrusion prevention technology, we will offer proven solutions that deliver the best return on security investment available in managing business risk from attacks.”

In another transaction expected to close in October, Symantec announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire security consulting firm and security tool maker, @stake. The parameters of the deal were not immediately made public.

Gail Hamilton, executive vice president of Symantec Global Services and Support, said, "By joining forces with the leader in application security consulting, we expand the capacity and capabilities of our consulting organization, which allows us to better secure the applications that our customers develop and deploy."

@stake's suite of tools, @stake LC (the widely used L0phtcrack password cracking tool), @stake SmartRisk Analyzer (application security analyzer for developers), and @stake WebProxy (Web application security analyzer for developers). The company also offers two services: @stake SmartRisk Services helps companies manage risk in complex environments. @stake Academy offers companies training courses that can be geared for individuals at all levels of profiency.