Cyveillance, a Reston-based business unit of LookingGlass Cyber Solutions Inc., has been acquired by Baltimore cybersecurity firm ZeroFox.
ZeroFox CEO James C. Foster said his company will absorb Cyveillance's more than 130 employees and over 100 customers through the acquisition. The deal follows ZeroFox's $74 million funding round raised earlier this year, and will greatly accelerate growth for the company, which has long had its eye on an eventual public exit, Foster said. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Founded in 1997, cyber threat detection firm Cyveillance was acquired by LookingGlass, also of Reston, in 2015. LookingGlass has continued to grow since then, raising $26.3 million in 2017.
Cyveillance's Reston, Virginia office will become ZeroFox's second physical location in the Mid-Atlantic area, Foster said. ZeroFox also has offices in India, Chile and the United Kingdom. The company is backed by more than $150 million to date.
Foster said ZeroFox had initially sought several months ago to partner with Cyveillance, which specializes in digital risk protection. He said the organizations shared some overlapping capabilities, as well as a key investor in Peter Barris of New Enterprise Associates. But it quickly became clear there was an opportunity to build more than just a partnership, Foster said.
Gilman Louie, co-founder executive chairman of LookingGlass Cyber Solutions, said in a statement that bringing two organizations together would create the most benefit for customers.
“Combined with the rich Cyveillance data, human and machine intelligence and expertise, our customers will now be fully equipped to combat growing digital threats and exert security control back into digital experiences," said Louie, who will be joining ZeroFox's board of directors. "This new powerhouse company will enable customers to achieve a new level of protection that is unique in the industry.”
Foster said ZeroFox, which provides protection against cyber threats on social media and other web platforms, is gaining "great people, great tradecraft," as well as Cyveillance's more than two decades of very valuable cyber threat intelligence data through this acquisition.
"[This deal] helps us reach scale, become much closer to profitability and will solidify our market position overnight," Foster said.
ZeroFox will now employ more than 400 people. Foster said he expects to continue growing the company, to have "north of 500 employees" next year.
This is not ZeroFox's first acquisition — the company previously bought South American security firm, Vulnr, for an undisclosed amount in 2015. And it may not be the last, Foster said. ZeroFox is "well positioned" to continue accelerating, and to potentially make more acquisitions in the cyber space, he said. The company also plans to continue moving toward an initial public offering, which Foster has said will not come this year, but will be "looked at closely" in 2021.
Foster said he is excited ZeroFox was able to find new growth opportunities and get this deal done amid the economic challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We were able to prove this year that even when times get tough, we can continue to move forward," Foster said. "I think next year is going to be a lot of fun."
