AT&T Buying Intel-Backed AlienVault To Beef Up Cybersecurity Efforts

AT&T on Tuesday announced it will acquire cybersecurity provider AlienVault in a deal that the carrier said will help it expand the reach of enterprise-grade security solutions to smaller businesses.

AT&T's business customers will have access to the Intel-backed company's security management platform for threat detection and response solutions following the close of the acquisition. AT&T has not said whether its channel partners will have immediate access to the latest security solutions.

Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

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AlienVault, founded in San Mateo, California in 2007, provides detection and threat response tools through its flagship Unified Security Management Platform. The firm also offers Open Threat Exchange, a public platform that security professionals can use to share threat information.

AlienVault's technology will become part of AT&T’s Edge-to-Edge Intelligence portfolio after the deal closes, according to the Dallas-based carrier.

"AlienVault’s expertise in threat intelligence will improve our ability to help organizations detect and respond to cybersecurity attacks," said Thaddeus Arroyo, CEO of AT&T Business in a statement. "Together, with our enterprise-grade detection, response and remediation capabilities, we’re providing scalable, intelligent, affordable security for business customers of all sizes."

AT&T said that after the deal closes, it will still continue to build on and invest in AlienVault’s Unified Security Management platform and Open Threat Exchange.

"This deal accelerates our ability to deliver on the AlienVault mission, which is to democratize threat detection and response to companies of all sizes," said Barmak Meftah, president and CEO of AlienVault in a statement on his company's website.

According to AlienVault's website, more than 7,000 organizations rely on the company's technology.

Since its launch, privately-held AlienVault has raised approximately $120 million in funding from the likes of Intel Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and GGV Capital. Reports started to surface last year that said AlienVault was considering going public.

"Sometime in the future, hopefully not too far in the future, we’re thinking about an IPO," Meftah said in an interview in June 2017.

The deal, which is subject to regulatory closing conditions, is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.