In a move to bolster the security of its massive global server network, Facebook announced on Thursday it was acquiring Palo Alto, California-based cybersecurity startup PrivateCore.
PrivateCore describes that its vCage software transparently secures data in use with full memory encryption for any application, any data, anywhere on standard x86 servers.
More specifically, the company explains:
PrivateCore vCage audits and secures OpenStack servers against persistent malware (rootkits/bootkits) and insider threats. vCage is comprised of two components: vCage Manager and optional vCage Host software. vCage Manager provides validation (referred to as attestation) for OpenStack servers to enable the created of trusted compute pools. Organizations can also deploy vCage Host, a high assurance hypervisor that protects data-in-use with full-memory encryption. Based on the open source Linux Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) hypervisor, vCage host runs existing virtual machine images without modification.
“I’m really excited that Facebook has entered into an agreement to acquire PrivateCore,” Facebook security chief Joe Sullivan wrote in a post to his own Facebook page.
“I believe that PrivateCore’s technology and expertise will help support Facebook’s mission to help make the world more open and connected, in a secure and trusted way,” Sullivan said. “Over time, we plan to deploy PrivateCore’s technology directly into the Facebook server stack.”
“Since the beginning, we have worked tirelessly on our technology to protect servers from malware threats, unauthorized physical access, and malicious hardware devices,” Oded Horovitz, CEO of PrivateCore, wrote in a blog post Thursday. “Working together with Facebook, there is a huge opportunity to pursue our joint vision at scale with incredible impact. Over time, Facebook plans to deploy our technology into the Facebook stack to help protect the people who use Facebook. We know we will learn and grow as we continue developing our technology and making it stronger.”
PrivateCore was founded in 2011 by security industry veterans from the IDF, VMware and Google. In June 2014, the company raised $2.25 million in seed funding from Foundation Capital.
Terms of the acquisition were not announced.