Akamai Buys DDoS Protection Service Prolexic for $370M

Prolexic offers cloud-based security solutions for protecting data centres and enterprise IP applications from DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks, which force large numbers of compromised PCs to inundate a website with traffic and take it offline.

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On Monday this week, Akamai Technologies announced it has agreed a purchase price of $370 million for Prolexic Technologies in an effort to bolster its cyber-security offerings.

Akamai said the acquisition would allow it to offer a total portfolio of enterprise security solutions for defence against network, application and data centre attacks delivered over the Internet.  Tom Leighton, Akamai CEO, said that all companies on the Web today are facing an ever-evolving threat landscape, including attacks aimed at disrupting operations, defacing the brand, or attempting to steal sensitive data.  “By joining forces with Prolexic, we intend to combine Akamai’s leading security and performance platform with Prolexic’s highly regarded DDoS mitigation solutions for data centre and enterprise applications protection…We believe that Prolexic’s solutions and team will help us achieve our goal of making the Internet fast, reliable, and secure,” Leighton said.

Akamai offers solutions for defending websites and Web applications against the largest and most sophisticated DDoS and application-layer attacks, the company has said. They combine DDoS mitigation solutions with expertise in security operations, to protect data centres and enterprise IP applications.
Prolexic CEO Scott Hammack said in a statement, “Today, business is defined by the availability, security and latency of Internet-facing applications, data and infrastructure…Being able to rely on one provider for Internet performance and security greatly simplifies resolution of network availability issues and offers clients clear lines of accountability. We believe that, together, we will be able to deliver an unprecedented level of network visibility and protection.”
Prolexic earlier this year had reported that the first quarter of 2013 was a “landmark quarter” for DDoS attacks.  The sale is subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approval. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2014.

SOURCE: Pcmag

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