Cisco Systems recently announced that it would acquire cybersecurity firm Duo Security for $2.35 billion to accelerate its operations in cloud computing. The latest deal is the biggest acquisition for Cisco since its $3.7 billion deal with application management company AppDynamics last year.
The acquisition integrates Cisco’s network, device, and cloud security platforms with Duo Security’s zero-trust authentication and access products, allowing Cisco clients to connect their users easily and securely.
“In today’s multi-cloud world, the modern workforce is connecting to critical business applications both on- and off-premise,” said David Goeckeler, executive vice president and general manager of Cisco’s networking and security business. “IT teams are responsible for protecting hundreds of different perimeters that span anywhere a user makes an access decision. Duo’s zero-trust authentication and access products integrated with our network, device and cloud security platforms will enable our customers to address the complexity and challenges that stem from multi-and hybrid-cloud environments.”
Founded by Dug Song, the Duo Security delivers unified access security and multi-factor authentication to organizations through a cloud-based platform. Its security applications verify the identity of users and the health of their devices before accessing the accounts, helping prevent information breaches.
“Our partnership is the product of the rapid evolution of the IT landscape alongside a modernizing workforce, which has completely changed how organizations must think about security,” said Dug Song, Duo Security’s co-founder and chief executive officer. “Cisco created the modern IT infrastructure, and together we will rapidly accelerate our mission of securing access for all users, with any device, connecting to any application, on any network. By joining forces with the world’s largest networking and enterprise security company, we have a unique opportunity to drive change at a massive scale and reshape the industry.”
