Cylance Acquires Ridgeway for Web Security, Honeypot Technology

Stealth security startup Cylance has acquired Ridgeway Internet Security, a software company specializing in Web application firewalls and honeypot technology.

With the acquisition, Cylance would be able to expand its abilities to pinpoint, prevent, and solve security problems by taking advantage of Ridgeway’s portfolio of attack-blocking products, Cylance said in a statement on Tuesday.

The company says its advanced and high performance ASP filtering technology is capable of blocking known and unknown Web attacks, but that is not all. The same technology is capable of unobtrusively watching Web traffic, so it can pose as a honeypot to collect detailed information about various attacks while they are in progress.

“I have scoured the world looking for truly unique technologies that solve the security problem at its core – the Ridgeway technology delivers on true intelligence and prevention,” said Stuart McClure, CEO and president of Cylance. McClure is the former CTO of McAfee, and left the Intel security subsidiary back in July 212.

Organizations are not taking the Web attack vector seriously enough, which is why the “bad guys” are succeeding in these attacks, McClure said. Ridgeway’s products will give Cylance the tools to address this particular attack vector, according to Cylance.

This is particularly true in recent attacks, whether they are from hacker groups such as Anonymous, or cyber-espionage groups such as the gang behind Operation Night Dragon. Attackers are taking advantage of security weaknesses in a Web application in order to compromise the company and steal data, Cylance said. Ridgeway’s technology prevents attackers from exploting Website vulnerabilities and foils the campaigns before sensitive data can be stolen.

Poorly designed web servers act as a gaping hole into the organization, Derek Soeder, CEO of Ridgeway Internet Security, who will be joining Cylance, said in a statement. No matter how strong the perimeter is, with IDS, firewall, and IPS, all that “can be rendered completely impotent” if the Web site is riddled with flaws, Soeder said. Organizations need a deeper understanding of these attacks in order to be able to protect themselves.

“Security is not a simple Windows or Linux or Apple debate, it is an application problem as well,” said Soeder.

Dallas, Texas-based Ridgeway will be integrated into Cylance’s development team, Cylance said.

Cylance is a security company that helps businesses identify vulnerabilities in its environment and to defend against potential attacks.

Recently, a Cylance researcher discovered a hard-coded password on a type of switch commonly deployed within critical infrastructure industries.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.