EMC buys Network Intelligence as security offerings consolidate

IT security chiefs can save cash and improve performance by focusing on integration, say experts

Storage giant EMC has bolstered its security capabilities by acquiring security event management specialist Network Intelligence. Meanwhile, experts urged vendors and purchasers of security systems to focus on products with more integrated functionality.

EMC’s move came on the same day the storage giant announced the completion of its multi-billion-dollar purchase of RSA Security. Together the two acquisitions will now form EMC's information security division, to be headed by former RSA chief executive Art Coviello.

"Network Intelligence software plays a role in closing the [security] loop; helping firms easily and quickly prove to auditors that their security is effective," said EMC's Rob Sadowski. "Our customers want [to deal with] fewer trusted vendors not more, and they want us to make it easier by building security into the infrastructure, not by bolting it on."

In a separate move, web application security specialist Breach Security today announced its acquisition of ThinkingStone, which produces the widely used ModSecurity open-source web application firewall.

Breach Security said it will continue to support open-source versions of ModSecurity with a new upgrade released today, and will also provide inexpensive commercial versions in the future. The acquisition will see ThinkingStone's Ivan Ristic become chief evangelist at Breach.

In other news, secure certificates vendor VeriSign expanded its capabilties last week by launching a new Log Management Service, designed to allow firms to monitor, analyse and store logs from databases and other critical systems, enabling faster detection and prevention of security breaches.

"It's extending what we were doing at the network level to the application level – you're more certain to identify things at this level that you wouldn't have seen otherwise," said VeriSign's Scott McGrath. "Customers are asking us to do more because they don't want to buy a lot of different technology."

Consolidation was a major theme of this year's Gartner IT Security Summit in London last week, where delegates were told they could save cash and reduce the complexity of their systems by buying integrated systems to fit their needs. But experts added that this would require greater efforts by vendors and security professionals.