Symantec to Acquire Threat Isolation Startup Fireglass

Symantec announced on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Israeli cybersecurity start-up Fireglass for an undisclosed sum.

Fireglass, which emerged from stealth in February 2016, describes its technology as an agentless isolation solution that eliminates ransomware, malware and phishing threats in real-time by preventing potentially harmful content from ever reaching user endpoints or the corporate network. 

Delivered as a cloud service, on premises, or in a hybrid model, Fireglass protects users from links they click on, or dangerous websites they visit. It does this by using its browser isolation technology, which allows web traffic and email content to be executed remotely and not reach endpoints.

“Integrating Fireglass’ isolation technology with Symantec’s existing endpoint, email and secure web gateway solutions could reduce security events by as much as 70 percent, while virtually eliminating advanced threats spread by web browsing or email content,” said Symantec CEO Greg Clark. “Isolation will become a core component in the design of cyber defense architectures for the cloud generation who face the reality of an encrypted Internet and the crisis inherent in email and web-delivered attacks.”

Fireglass’ browser isolation technology integrates with existing security solutions and across Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and other devices including browser-enabled IoT devices. 

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2017, Symantec said. Fireglass’ technology is expected to be available to Symantec customers and partners soon after the transaction closes, the company said.

Fireglass is backed investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners and Norwest Venture Partners.

Early this year, Sophos announced its plans to acquire Invincea, a provider of endpoint security solutions that leverage virtual containers to protect against advanced malware and other threats.