Cisco Systems said Tuesday it will acquire OpenDNS, a cloud-based security firm with 65 million users, in a $635 million cash and assumed equity deal.
OpenDNS, based in San Francisco, says it routes 70 billion Internet requests daily across more than 160 countries.Founded in 2006,
The cloud security provider posted a FAQ on its website which didn’t say much about how or if its offerings would change, but noted that Cisco has been an investor in OpenDNS “long before this deal was announced.” Current licenses remain in effect for the duration of the subscription period purchased, it said.
“I’m incredibly excited about the potential this unlocks for us in the years to come,” CEO David Ulevitch said in a letter to employees.
The acquisition by San Jose based networking firm Cisco comes as networking firms seek ways to protect mobile users, who might sign on to the network from a desktop, mobile phone, or even through one of what is expected to become a plethora of tiny gadgets and embedded microchips in the Internet of Things.
Users connected through a desktop to a network are easier to protect than mobile users using unmonitored and potentially unsecure portals to the network, Cisco said.
OpenDNS makes a product called Umbrella which monitors threats to users connecting wirelessly through the cloud, automating detection of threats and displaying them on its Security Graph “to observe infrastructure being staged before an attack is launched.”
Threats are “growing exponentially” in the connected world, Hilton Romanski, Cisco chief technology and strategy officer, said in a statement. “OpenDNS has a strong team with deep security expertise and key technology that complements Cisco’s security vision,” he said. “Together, we will help customers protect their extended network wherever the user is and regardless of the device.”
OpenDNS team will become part of Cisco’s Security Business Group led by David Goeckeler, senior vice president and general manager.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016, after clearing anti-trust and other closing matters. That could take “anywhere between six and eight weeks, maybe less,” Ulevitch said in his letter to employees.
Photo: Exterior view of Cisco headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
