NTT Security, the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. security industry, announced today that it has acquired WhiteHat Security. The amount of money involved in the takeover is not known.
WhiteHat was founded in 2001 by Jeremiah Grossman, who had previously served as Yahoo’s Information Security Officer. The company offers various cloud and corporate network security services. Its main product is WhiteHat Sentinel, which manages more than 11,000 websites, including those of large companies operating in the e-commerce, financial and healthcare sectors. Customers include Akamai Technologies, Dell, NetApp and Pitney Bowes.
Independently active
WhiteHat Security organised another investment round in 2013 in which, according to Crunchbase, it raised 50.6 million dollars (44.7 million euros). The fact that the company was able to remain independent for eighteen years is an impressive achievement at one point, as WhiteHat was supported by venture capital. Normally such startups are sold relatively quickly, but this has taken a long time at WhiteHat until now.
In recent years there have been various rumours about a takeover of the company. But CEO Craig Hinkley invariably said that all options remain open to WhiteHat. According to Hinkley, an IPO, a new investment round or a takeover were all possible. In the end, the latter option was chosen and NTT Security will soon become the new owner. Under the auspices of NTT, WhiteHat will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary.
Business security needs
A WhiteHat spokesman told SiliconAngle that the companies will work together to meet the business security needs of companies”. These include “the IT infrastructure, critical applications and the digital transformation. Although WhiteHat will continue as an independent subsidiary, the company’s services will soon be available to NTT Security customers.
CEO Katsumi Nakata of NTT Security states in a statement that the acquisition of WhiteHat Security makes it possible to secure a smart and connected society. His company wants to do this by providing comprehensive security solutions for companies undergoing the digital transformation. This acquisition, which is expected to be completed this year, is part of these solutions.
This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.