Collaborate Disseminate
Belden and its Tripwire and Hirschmann brands announced an extended partnership with Forescout to advance cybersecurity for industrial organizations and critical infrastructure. The companies will introduce enhanced joint offerings to address industry … Continue reading Belden and Forescout advance cybersecurity for industrial organizations and critical infrastructure
Treck Inc. may be one of the most important software companies you’ve never heard of. Engineers at the Cincinnati-based company build networking protocols that end up in everything from HP printers to medical devices made by Baxter International, a Fortune 500 company. That core software, however, contains no less than 19 vulnerabilities, at least two of which could let hackers remotely commandeer devices running the code. That was the verdict made public on Tuesday by researchers from Jerusalem-based security company JSOF after months of studying Treck’s code. The discovery highlights how obscure companies can have an outsize impact on the supply chain security of software products around the world. It also shows how painstaking the act of locating and patching vulnerable devices can be. The further that JSOF researchers dug, the more devices they found running the Treck software. The footprint of devices grew so big that JSOF called in Forescout […]
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If Advent International still intends to acquire the security vendor Forescout, then the companies’ relationship is getting off to an awkward start. Forescout said Wednesday it had filed a complaint against Advent, a Boston-based private equity firm, for allegedly violating the terms of the acquisition. Advent announced in February it would acquire Forescout for roughly $1.9 billion, only to say on Monday it would not complete the deal by the May 18 deadline. The delay coincides with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and a significant increase in the number of deals between security vendors and private equity firms in recent years. Advent blamed a “material adverse effect” for the holdup, a claim that Forescout is disputing. “We have satisfied all conditions to closing under our merger agreement, and a material adverse effect has not occurred,” Theresia Gouw, chair of the Forescout board of directors, said in a statement Wednesday. “The only […]
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Hospitals and other healthcare organizations around the globe are under immense pressure as they test and care for patients with COVID-19. They are also under siege by cyber attackers. This month, Interpol released a warning to hospitals and other medi… Continue reading Helping healthcare combat cyber attackers
Private equity dollars continued to flow into the cybersecurity industry Thursday when Forescout Technologies announced it reached an agreement to be acquired by the investment firm Advent International. It’s an all-cash deal worth $1.9 billion, meaning Advent International will pay $33 per Forescout share, a rate that’s about 18% above Forescout’s closing price of $27.98 on Thursday. The company first went public in October 2017 at $22 a share. Forescout specializes in “device security,” a concept that allows companies to protect their share of any device connected to their networks. Its shares have fallen by some 12% over the past year, while the overall S&P 500 index has climbed by 22%, Silicon Valley Business Journal reported. The company’s fourth-quarter revenue grew 8% year-over-year to $91.3 million, propelled in part by a 14% jump in subscription revenue to $37.6 million. President and CEO Mike DeCesare will remain in charge, and Forescout’s headquarters […]
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Continue reading Forescout goes for $1.9 billion in private-equity acquisition
Forescout, the network security company that has been publicly traded since 2017, announced today it was going private again. Private equity firms Advent International and Crosspoint Capital are acquiring the company in an all-cash purchase of $1.9 billion. The two private equity firms will pay $33 per share, which represented a premium of 30% over […] Continue reading Forescout to be acquired by a pair of private equity firms for $1.9B
Making the best decision about risk sometimes means forgoing cybersecurity’s best practices. That can be the unfortunate reality for companies with equipment that is under warranty. Security leaders sometimes have to make the tough choice of forgoing a patch because in some cases, it would void the manufacturer warranty on the product if applied, and leave them on the hook for any potential costs if the equipment were to break. This dilemma highlights the complicated nature of security decision-making. Even in today’s world – where security threats cost businesses $45 billion in 2018 – making the right decision to manage a company’s risk can mean juggling competing priorities, like limiting the risk of a cyberattack with the financial risk of repairing costly equipment without a warranty. Patching is one of cybersecurity’s most commonly accepted best practices. By patching systems, companies are closing up known vulnerabilities in their infrastructure, devices or […]
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Every few years, Microsoft causes some panic across industry sectors by announcing the end-of-life of one of its older Windows operating systems. In this case, Windows 7 is going “end of life” on Jan. 14, meaning Microsoft will no longer be regularly updating the system with fixes when a security vulnerability is found. The company is urging users – both consumer and enterprise – to update their systems to the latest operating system: Windows 10. As the weeks tick down until the deadline, the question becomes: how big of a security threat is this? We’ve seen the real-world attacks that can come from unpatched vulnerabilities in an out-of-date operating system. There are also valid reasons an organization could choose to hedge its bets and not upgrade. Ultimately, it is a conversation about risk, and more specifically, how much risk is an organization willing to assume in the face of a […]
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Continue reading Windows 7 end-of-life is coming. How much should you worry?
Cyber attacks on critical and industrial infrastructure are on the rise, impacting operational reliability and business risk across all industries, including utilities, manufacturing and oil & gas. Threats to operational technology (OT) can disrup… Continue reading Operational Technology Cyber Security Alliance aims to tackle OT threats
Tampering with surveillance cameras is a common activity for Hollywood heroes and criminals alike. Now, researchers have shown how they can do it in real life. Continue reading Researchers hack camera in fake video attack