Symantec Buys Skycure To Secure Mobile Devices

Cybersecurity company Symantec recently announced it has entered an agreement to acquire U.S. and Israel-based Skycure, a mobile threat defense company.

In a press release, Symantec, which did not disclose the terms of the deal, said, “Skycure’s predictive threat detection techniques will enhance Symantec’s enterprise and consumer mobility offerings to help organizations address the needs of the increasingly mobile workforce, enabling them to ensure that devices are risk-free and secure while accessing corporate resources.”

“One of the most dangerous assumptions in today’s world is that iOS and other mobile devices that employees bring into the office are safe, but the apps and data on these devices are under increasing attack,” said Greg Clark, Symantec CEO. “We believe that tomorrow’s workforce will be completely mobile and will demand a cyber defense solution that travels with them.”

The increasingly interconnected world requires a different way of thinking about devices, and according to Clark, the merger will go a long way toward remedying mobile cybersecurity issues.

“Mobile is a core component of our strategy, and the acquisition of Skycure is a major step forward in executing it,” said Clark. “Together, we will offer the cloud generation an integrated mobile cyber defense architecture that will protect customers’ mobile devices and networks across iOS, Android and Windows.”

According to Symantec, managed and unmanaged devices like tablets and smartphones are growing in prevalence and flooding the workplace. This invites new risks and vulnerabilities.

In 2016 Symantec’s researchers discovered more than 600 new vulnerabilities on iOS and Android operating systems, and mobile malware detections doubled to a total of 18.4 million. To help combat this, Skycure’s artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques will deliver a single, unified solution to proactively protect mobile devices across all major mobile operating systems.

The Skycure technology delivers “unparalleled depth” of threat intelligence to predict and detect the broadest range of threats.   

“The promise of a mobile threat defense that comes from a combination like Skycure and Symantec is compelling,” Clark said. “As we look ahead, we believe the future is mobile-first and requires protection levels that single platform vendors will struggle to provide on their own. Our investments in this area will bring defense-in-depth across platforms including closed operating systems.”