Kenna Security, a cybersecurity firm founded in Chicago by a former Orbitz executive, is getting scooped up by Cisco.
Cisco announced Friday that it plans to acquire Kenna, a firm that helps companies identify and remediate cyber risks. It was founded in 2010 by Chicagoan and former Orbitz executive Ed Bellis, who served as the travel giant's chief information security officer. He, along with co-founder Jeff Heuer, an experienced software developer, set out to create a product that uses data science and machine learning to help companies track and predict security threats.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The startup raises a $1 million seed round in 2010 from investors including Chicago's Hyde Park Angels, who also invested in the company's subsequent rounds. Kenna raised nearly $100 million in total funding, according to Crunchbase.
Kenna eventually moved its headquarters to Santa Clara, Calif., but it maintains a local office with about 50 employees. Bellis, Kenna's CTO, remains based in Chicago.
Kenna's tech, which helps companies prioritize vulnerabilities based on threat intelligence and business impact, is used by firms like CVS, Sephora, TransUnion and Mattel. Cisco said Kenna will integrate into its SecureX platform, the company's cloud security product.
"The breadth and scale of Cisco coupled with Kenna Security’s mastery of machine-learning and data science will reshape how the entire industry addresses cyber risk,” Kenna CEO Karim Toubba said in a statement.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
