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AT&T’s AlienVault Acquisition: Why It Bought the Cybersecurity Company

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AT&T announced its plan to acquire AlienVault on July 10, 2018, and completed the deal on August 22, 2018. The companies did not disclose the purchase price. AT&T said the acquisition would add AlienVault’s threat-detection software and Open Threat Exchange intelligence community to its security portfolio, with the goal of extending enterprise-grade services to more small and medium-sized businesses.

Why did AT&T buy AlienVault?

AT&T said it wanted to combine AlienVault’s threat intelligence and security technology with AT&T’s capabilities in threat detection, prevention, response and remediation, as well as its managed-security services and network visibility. The stated business goal was to broaden AT&T’s enterprise security portfolio and make those capabilities available to millions of small and medium-sized businesses—not just larger enterprises.

In its announcement, AT&T described the acquisition as a way to expand “enterprise-grade security solutions” for small and medium-sized businesses. The deal also brought AlienVault’s security talent into AT&T’s cybersecurity strategy. AT&T’s acquisition announcement

What did AT&T get from AlienVault?

Unified Security Management (USM)

AlienVault’s USM platform was designed for threat detection and incident response. AT&T also described compliance capabilities as part of the platform. These functions gave AT&T software capabilities to pair with its existing security services. AT&T’s acquisition announcement

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Open Threat Exchange (OTX)

OTX was an open, crowdsourced threat-intelligence community where security researchers shared findings and threat data. That community-based intelligence was a distinct asset alongside USM’s detection and response tools. AT&T’s acquisition announcement

Security expertise and research

AT&T said AlienVault’s technology and security talent would help accelerate its cybersecurity strategy. AlienVault had been founded in 2007 and had raised about $118 million in venture funding, according to Crunchbase figures reported by CyberScoop in 2018. CyberScoop’s acquisition report

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When was the acquisition announced and completed?

Date Milestone
July 10, 2018 AT&T and AlienVault announced the planned acquisition. Both companies had approved the agreement, but the terms were not disclosed. Closing was expected in the third quarter of 2018. CyberScoop’s announcement-day report
August 22, 2018 AT&T announced that it had completed the acquisition. AT&T’s completion announcement

After closing, AlienVault CEO Barmak Meftah became president of AT&T Cybersecurity Solutions and CEO of AlienVault. AT&T said it had created a standalone cybersecurity solutions division. AT&T’s completion announcement

How much did AT&T pay?

The purchase price was not disclosed by AT&T or AlienVault. AT&T said the transaction was not expected to have a material effect on its financial results. AT&T’s acquisition announcement

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What the deal meant for AT&T’s security strategy

AlienVault brought both a commercial security platform and a community threat-intelligence resource. AT&T’s stated rationale was to connect those assets with its managed-security services and network visibility, then broaden the reach of its security offerings among smaller businesses. The companies announced a strategic fit and expansion goal; the acquisition announcement does not establish how widely particular products were subsequently adopted or the deal’s later commercial results.

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