CounterTack Buys ManTech Cyber Solutions International

Red-hot endpoint security startup CounterTack has acquired ManTech Cyber Solutions International (MCSI), a commercial software division of solution provider giant ManTech, for an undisclosed amount, the company said Wednesday.

Prior to the acquisition, CounterTack's offering centered around Sentinel, its flagship next-generation endpoint detection and response offering that is backed up with a Hadoop management stack for threat intelligence and analysis.

The acquisition of MCSI adds two new product lines to the mix, including new domain expertise in products and services. The first new product line, Responder Pro, is an advanced forensics and analysis tool that allows incident responders to deconstruct threats and map them against records of digital DNA. The second product, Active Defense, is a behavioral analysis solution targeted primarily at the midmarket enterprise.

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That breadth of solutions gives CounterTack the capability for both in-memory and operating-system-level analysis of realtime behavioral threats, Tom Bain, vice president, global marketing, said in an interview with CRN.

"When you put all these things from a technology standpoint, it's a very powerful story," Bain said. "It's really about depth and breadth for the customer."

As the market for next-generation endpoint technologies heats up and investments pour in, Bain said CounterTack's "full circle" approach for customers and partners will help distinguish it against competitors such as CrowdStrike, Cybereason, Mandiant, Bit9, and more.

While most of those competitors have reeled in significant venture capital funding in recent months (as did CounterTack -- $25 million Series C last month), Bain said the ability to deliver a more comprehensive endpoint detection and prevention solution will set CounterTack apart.

"We're well-positioned to take them on, and we welcome the competition, absolutely," Bain said. "It's one thing from CrowdStrike's standpoint to raise [$100 million], but the reality is, with this acquisition, we actually have the largest customer base in the [endpoint detection and response] market ... Now we have the ability, with three different products and the services, to cross-sell, upsell, and drive more value for our customer."

The acquisition added 40 employees to CounterTack's 65 employees, as well as an extensive customer base, which brings the startup's total customer count to more than 200.

As part of the deal, ManTech, No. 24 on CRN's 2015 SP500 list, will become an equity investor and a distribution partner. That is significant for CounterTack, Bain said, as it gives the company a "foothold in the federal space."

"We're really excited about our prospects there," Bain said. "We have a lot more opportunity overnight than we did yesterday. That's what we're really excited about and what we're going to leverage, not just with ManTech but with all of our partners."

Beyond ManTech, Bain said CounterTack partners, overall, will feel the benefits of a broader product line and will see more opportunity to drive value for customers.

Bain said CounterTack will be investing in accelerating its partner training and enablement around the new product lines. Partners also will feel the benefits of three or four more channel representatives brought on with MCSI employees.

"We're really excited, not just for the opportunity to sell this on our own, but through our sales channel," Bain said. "We are a channel-driven company at the end of the day."

PUBLISHED JULY 15, 2015