Microsoft to purchase VPN security firm

Microsoft has agreed to acquire Israeli Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) virtual private network (VPN) vendor Whale Communications, subject to regulatory approval.

Details of the transaction have not been released, but Microsoft said it “will be fully acquiring the company and its complete operations, including personnel, products and technologies/intellectual property, facilities, contracts and customer base. This includes Whale’s Intelligent Application Gateway appliance and software product line and custom Application Optimizers for granular deep-content inspection of remote network traffic”.

Penetration-testing vendor NTA Monitor’s technical director, Roy Hills, said, “Microsoft has IP Security VPN, and wants to add SSL VPN functionality. Why Whale? Well, I suspect that it’s partly because most of the other good players have already been snapped up. For example Neoteris was bought by Juniper. It may also be because Whale is based on Windows and thus easier to integrate.”

When asked whether it is getting into the security appliance business, Microsoft replied, “No, we are not getting into hardware manufacturing, but we are already in the appliance business through partnerships with equipment manufacturers to deliver Windows Server and ISA Server hardware solutions. While in the foreseeable future we will continue to sell Whale’s product set, we believe that the greatest success will occur through partnership with experts in the appliance industry.”

Industry analysts said the ability to protect mobile devices and desktop PCs through browser-based VPN technology will be critical for Microsoft.