Sophos

Last updated

Sophos Ltd.
Company type Private
Industry Computer software
Founded1985;39 years ago (1985)
Founder
  • Jan Hruska
  • Peter Lammer
Headquarters Abingdon, England
Key people
Products Security software
Services Computer security
Revenue$1 billion (2023)
US$109 million (2019)
US$26.9 million (2019)
Owner Thoma Bravo
Number of employees
4,400 (2022)
Website www.sophos.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Footnotes /references
[1] [2] [3]

Sophos Ltd. is a British security software and hardware company. It develops and markets managed security services and cybersecurity software and hardware, such as managed detection and response, incident response and endpoint security software. [4] [5] Sophos was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Thoma Bravo in March 2020. [6]

Contents

History

Sophos was founded by Jan Hruska and Peter Lammer and began producing its first antivirus and encryption products in 1985. [7] During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Sophos primarily developed and sold a range of security technologies in the UK, including encryption tools available for most users (private or business). In the late 1990s, Sophos concentrated its efforts on developing and selling antivirus technology and embarked on a program of international expansion. [8]

In 2010, the majority interest of Sophos was sold to Apax Partners. [9]

In 2011, Utimaco Safeware AG (acquired by Sophos in 2008) was accused of supplying data monitoring and tracking software to partners that have sold to governments such as Syria.[ citation needed ] Sophos issued a statement of apology and confirmed that they had suspended their relationship with the partners in question and launched an investigation. [10]

In June 2015, Sophos announced plans to raise US$100 million on the London Stock Exchange. [11] Sophos was floated on the FTSE in September 2015. [12]

On 14 October 2019, Sophos announced that Thoma Bravo, a US-based private equity firm, made an offer to acquire Sophos for US$7.40 per share, representing an enterprise value of approximately US$3.9 billion. The board of directors of Sophos stated their intention to recommend the offer to the company's shareholders unanimously. [13] On 2 March 2020, Sophos announced the completion of the acquisition. [14]

In February 2024, President Joe Levy was appointed acting CEO after Kris Hagerman resigned from the CEO position. [15] [16] Mr. Levy was named the permanent CEO in May 2024. [17]

In October 2024, Wired reported that the company had been targeted for years by hackers affiliated with the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and Sichuan Silence Information Technology, a company associated with China's Ministry of Public Security. [18] [19] Others attributed the attacks to Chinese advanced persistent threats such as APT41, APT31, and Volt Typhoon. [20] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) asked for the public's help in identifying the attackers. [20]

Acquisitions and partnerships

In 2003, Sophos acquired ActiveState, a Canadian software company that developed anti-spam software. [21] From September 2003 to February 2006, Sophos served as the parent company of ActiveState, a developer of programming tools for dynamic programming languages: in February 2006, ActiveState became an independent company when it was sold to Vancouver-based venture capitalist firm Pender Financial. [22]

In 2007, Sophos acquired ENDFORCE, a company based in Ohio, United States, which developed and sold security policy compliance and network access control (NAC) software. [23] [24]

In July 2008, Sophos agreed to acquire Utimaco, a publicly-held company focused on encryption and other data security products, for over $340 million; [25] the acquisition closed for $314 million in September 2008. [26] In October 2013, Utimaco was divested via a management buyout involving investors PINOVA Capital and BIP Investment Partners. [27]

In May 2011, Sophos announced the acquisition of Astaro, a privately held provider of network security products, headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts, USA and Karlsruhe, Germany. [28] At the time Astaro was the 4th largest UTM (Unified Threat Management) vendor and while the deal made sense at the time Forbes questioned its viability. [29] Sophos subsequently renamed the Astaro UTM to Sophos UTM.

In February 2014, Sophos announced that it had acquired Cyberoam Technologies, a provider of network security products. [30]

In December 2015, Sophos acquired Surfright, the company behind the malware scanner HitmanPro. [31]

In November 2016, Sophos acquired Barricade, a start-up with a behavior-based analytics engine. [32]

In February 2017, Sophos acquired Invincea, a software company that provides malware threat detection, prevention, and pre-breach forensic intelligence. [33] [34] [35]

In October 2024, Sophos agreed to acquire SecureWorks, a publicly-held company majority owned by Dell focused on Extended Detection and Response (XDR), for $859 million; the acquisition is expected to close in early 2025, subject to regulatory approval. [36]

Controversies

On 31 October 2024, Sophos released it's report about the Operation Pacific Rim which details their actions done against cyber criminals worldwide for the last years. [37] However, this met criticism, since Sophos willingly installed spyware on customers which they deemed malicious while hiding it under necessary telemetry data. [38]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Annual Report 2019". Sophos. Archived from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  2. ↑ Novinson, Michael (18 January 2023). "Sophos to Lay Off 10% of Workers Amid Shift to MDR Services". Bank Info Sedcurity. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Sophos is (officially!) a Great Place to Work". 8 June 2021. Archived from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  4. ↑ Fairfield, C. J. (4 March 2024). "Sophos Exec: Here's How MSPs Can Drive Revenue With Our Products". www.crn.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  5. ↑ Miletic, Barbara (27 April 2023). "Sophos erweitert seinen globalen MDR-Service". IT-BUSINESS (in German). Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  6. ↑ Miller, Ron (2 March 2020). "Thoma Bravo completes $3.9B Sophos acquisition". TechCrunch. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  7. ↑ Cluley, Graham (4 November 2010). "Sophos: the early years". Naked Security. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "Exterminator Tools". Windows IT Pro. 15 November 1999. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  9. ↑ Hoffman, Stefanie. "Sophos To Sell Majority Stake To Apax Partners | CRN". www.crn.com. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  10. ↑ "The Bureau Investigates article". Archived from the original on 4 December 2011.
  11. ↑ Simmons, Jana (3 June 2015). "Sophos Plans $100 Million London IPO". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  12. ↑ "Sophos joins the UK's top public companies in the FTSE 250". 23 September 2015. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  13. ↑ "Sophos founders exit before Thoma Bravo sale". Global Capital. 5 December 2019. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  14. ↑ "Sophos opens new chapter with take-private acquisition". 2 March 2020. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  15. ↑ Alspach, Kyle. "5 Things To Know About The Sophos CEO Transition". CRN . Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  16. ↑ Alspach, Kyle (15 February 2024). "Sophos CEO Kris Hagerman Steps Down, Acting CEO Named". CRN. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  17. ↑ Alspach, Kyle (20 May 2024). "Sophos Names Joe Levy As Permanent CEO, Hires New CFO". CRN. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  18. ↑ Greenberg, Andy (31 October 2024). "Inside a Firewall Vendor's 5-Year War with the Chinese Hackers Hijacking Its Devices". Wired . Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  19. ↑ "Facebook uncovers Chinese network behind fake expert". BBC News . 2 December 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  20. 1 2 Arghire, Ionut (4 November 2024). "FBI Seeking Information on Chinese Hackers Targeting Sophos Firewalls". Security Week. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  21. ↑ "Sophos acquires anti-spam specialist ActiveState". www.sophos.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  22. ↑ "ActiveState Acquired by Employees and Pender Financial Group; Company Renews Focus on Tools and Solutions for Dynamic Languages". Business Wire. 22 February 2006. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  23. ↑ "Sophos buys Endforce for network access control". Network World. 11 January 2007. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  24. ↑ Wauters, Robin. "Sophos beefs up on online security, acquires Dutch security software firm SurfRight for $31.8 million". Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  25. ↑ "Sophos makes move to buy Utimaco". Virus Bulletin. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  26. ↑ McMillan, Robert (30 September 2008). "Sophos concludes $314 million Utimaco buy". NetworkWorld. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  27. ↑ "PINOVA Capital and BIP Investment Partners acquire Utimaco Safeware AG in a buyout transaction". Merkur. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  28. ↑ "Sophos Acquires Astaro to Meet Demand for Complete, Layered Security Protection". www.sophos.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  29. ↑ Stiennon, Richard. "Sophos + Astaro: Good companies, bad deal". Forbes. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  30. ↑ "Sophos Acquires Cyberoam to Boost Layered Defense Portfolio". Infosecurity Magazine. 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  31. ↑ Aldershoff, Jan Willem (14 December 2015). "Company behind anti-malware software HitmanPro sold to Sophos for €30 million". MYCE. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  32. ↑ "Sophos acquires Irish cybersecurity start-up Barricade". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  33. ↑ "Sophos Adds Advanced Machine Learning to Its Next-Generation Endpoint Protection Portfolio with Acquisition of Invincea". Sophos. 8 February 2017. Archived from the original on 23 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  34. ↑ "Sophos grows anti-malware ensemble with Invincea". Sophos. 8 February 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017. One may ask, if you already have great next-generation technology, why do you need Invincea's technology?...Think of Invincea as the superhero that takes our ensemble to the next level – the entity that adds neural network-based machine learning to the team.
  35. ↑ "Sophos to Acquire Invincea to Add Industry Leading Machine Learning to its Next Generation Endpoint Protection Portfolio". Invincea. 8 February 2017. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  36. ↑ Warminsky, Joe (21 October 2024). "Sophos to acquire Secureworks for $859 million". The Record. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  37. ↑ "Sophos' Pacific Rim: Defense Against Nation-State Adversaries". www.sophos.com. Sophos.
  38. ↑ Schmidt, Jürgen (10 November 2024). "Analysis and opinion: Sophos and the broken vow". www.heise.de. Heise.
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