BeyondTrust, the Carlsbad, CA-based network security provider, says today it has acquired the Blackbird Group, a New York specialist in Windows Active Directory (AD) systems management and auditing software. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal is the latest in an acquisition spree by BeyondTrust, a specialist in software that controls user privileges and helps public companies meet regulatory requirements for managing internal financial controls, risk, and corporate governance. The company made a key acquisition in May with the purchase of vulnerability management systems provider eEye Digital Security, and eEye’s CEO, Kevin Hickey, now serves as president and COO at BeyondTrust.
Over the past 18 months, though, BeyondTrust also has acquired database activity monitoring vendor Lumigent Technologies, DLP specialist GentleSecurity, and AD integration assets from Likewise Software.
With the Blackbird acquisition, BeyondTrust says it plans to extend the reach of its Active Directory management, adding real-time auditing capabilities for both privileged and ordinary system users. In its statement, BeyondTrust says combining Blackbird’s software with BeyondTrust’s technology for “context-aware security intelligence” will help organizations improve their network security protection and data recovery capabilities.
The deal poses a fresh challenge to Quest, the Aliso Viejo, CA, software company acquired by Dell, which has been Blackbird’s main competitor in AD systems management.
BeyondTrust says more than half of the companies listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average already use its technology to secure their enterprise networks. The company says its customers include eight of the world’s 10 largest banks, eight of the world’s 10 largest aerospace and defense firms, and seven of the 10 largest U.S. pharmaceutical companies.
