Symantec buys key pair of encryption firms

PGP and GuardianEdge snapped up in surprise dual acquisition.

Symantec

has announced the acquisition of two separate firms specialising in encryption and email security. The deals were completed in cash with

PGP

, a renowned specialist in public key cryptography, costing $300 million and

GuardianEdge

, which also provides encryption and data loss prevention solutions, snapped up for $70 million.

According to details released by

Symantec

, technology provided by the two firms will be merged into the

Symantec

portfolio to offer its customers a wider choice of encryption techniques, while the

PGP

key management system will be adopted as a standard across the range of brands.

It is not the first time the

PGP

name has come under the control of an anti-virus giant, with the original technology developed by Phil Zimmermann in 1991 eventually being taken over by

Network Associates

(

NAI

, nowadays better known as

McAfee

) in 1997; the current company

PGP Corporation

was formed in 2002, with the products and IP bought back from

NAI

.

GuardianEdge

, meanwhile, traces its history back to 1984 with the release of

PC Guardian

hardware security solutions by

Micro Security Devices Inc

. The firm moved into encryption in the mid-1990s and took on the name

GuardianEdge

in 2005.

The official announcement of the deal from

Symantec

is

here

with more details

here

.

Posted on 04 May 2010 by

Virus Bulletin