Palo Alto Networks to buy IoT security firm Zingbox

Palo Alto Networks yesterday said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Zingbox, an IoT security company, for US$75 million to be paid in cash. The proposed acquisition is expected to close during Palo Alto Networks fiscal first quarter of 2020.

The number of connected devices in enterprises is growing exponentially, yet most of these devices are unmanaged and pose a security risk. Current IoT point products mostly focus on device profiling and inventory, not on detecting or stopping sophisticated attacks. Organisations are forced to integrate multiple IoT security products across different vendors, introducing complexity, higher cost, and manual effort.

"The proliferation of IoT devices in enterprises has left customers facing an enormous gap in protection against cybersecurity attacks. With the proposed acquisition of Zingbox, we will provide a first-of-its-kind subscription for our Next-Generation Firewall and Cortex platforms that gives customers the ability to gain control, visibility, and security of their connected devices at scale." – Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks

Zingbox's cloud-based service and advanced AI and machine learning technology for device and threat identification capabilities will accelerate Palo Alto Networks delivery of IoT security through its Next-Generation Firewall and Cortex platforms.

Organizations will gain the ability to quickly improve the visibility and security of their IoT landscape. Once combined, Palo Alto Networks will offer IoT security with best-in-class visibility and automated in-line prevention, all integrated with the Next-Generation Firewall and Cortex platforms.

"Our vision has always been to ensure that organisations realise the full benefits of IoT devices without sacrificing security. By joining forces with Palo Alto Networks, we will be able to secure connected devices at scale to help organizations embrace digital transformation,” said Xu Zou, CEO of Zingbox.

Once the acquisition is completed, Xu along with Zingbox co-founders May Want and Jianlin Zeng will join Palo Alto Networks.