Roundup: HP, IBM Target Security Sector

In a busy week of headlines for security, risk and compliance software HP and IBM made announcements for acquisitions, trends and software releases.

HP acquires ArcSight
On Monday HP continued its acquisition binge and announced that it has acquired ArcSight (ARST) for $43.50 per share, or $1.5 billion. Adding ArcSight will compliment HP's security portfolio and allow customers to proactively monitor real-time events, assess risks and respond quickly to threats.  ArcSight is a leading security and compliance management company that was positioned in the Gartner leaders quadrant of the 2010 Magic Quadrant for Security Information and Event Management.

"HP’s acquisition of ArcSight will enable the creation of a new type of security solution, one that serves the modern enterprise,” said Tom Reilly, president and chief executive officer, ArcSight. “By combining ArcSight’s Enterprise Threat and Risk Management Platform with HP’s breadth of application development and operations management solutions, HP will be able to offer an integrated security platform that delivers broader visibility, deeper context and faster remediation of enterprise-wide security and risk-related events."

HP Security Report
On Thursday HP released a research report that highlights enterprise computing trends and network security vulnerabilities for the first half of 2010.  The report comes from HP TippingPoint's Digital Vaccine Labs (DV Labs) and provides vulnerability data from Qualys and additional analysis provided by the Internet Storm Center and SANS. The report uses real security event data to highlight how things that employees do on corporate networks put the network at risk and open the company to serious security threats.

“To mitigate network security risk, organizations need insight into the potential threats associated with using social media networking sites and web application downloads in a business environment,” said Mike Dausin, manager, Advanced Security Intelligence, HP TippingPoint DVLabs. “By understanding the increased risk these applications pose to the corporate network, organizations can implement remediation strategies to ensure that business processes, as well as data, remain secure.”

IBM announces new security software
IBM announced new software that helps businesses protect customer data and other sensitive information from security breaches.  The new software is called InfoSphere Guardium 8 and provides a single set of automated and centralized controls for a variety of enterprise databases and applications.  Features include fraud protection for SAP systems, protection of SharePoint files, support for the mainframe, compliance and audit processes, advanced blocking and quarattining and integration with Tivoli software.

"From organized crime syndicates stealing credentials and hacking into databases to unauthorized access by employees, businesses are facing an overwhelming volume of sophisticated data security threats," said Mike Gibbons, principal, Deloitte, a leading system integrator. "Organizations must now implement additional layers of security such as real-time database activity monitoring because traditional perimeter security approaches such as network firewalls and anti-virus systems are no longer sufficient."

To help clients, partners and academics better understand and address cyber security issues IBM launched the Institute for Advanced Security earlier this year. IBM Infosphere Guardium 8 software will be available as a pre-configured appliance or virtual appliance in mid-September.

IBM acquires OpenPages
On Wednesday IBM announced a definitive agreement to acquire OpenPages, a privately-held company that helps companies identify and manage risk and compliance activities across the enterprise through a single management system.  OpenPages software aggregates  domains across a company like operational risk, financial controls management, IT risk, compliance and internal audits and delivers a comprehensive compliance and risk management strategy.

"Everyday we hear first hand about the risk and compliance management issues that businesses face, and its clear that a new information architecture is needed to delivery valuable risk intelligence that empowers risk-based decision making said Michael Duffy, president and CEO, OpenPages. "The combination of IBM and OpenPages software, business process insights and industry expertise will address this need, helping businesses tackle their complex risk challenges."

Forrester's Chris McClean has a nice blog post on the acquisition and the recent trends in the GRC (Governance, Risk Management, Compliance) market.

IBM intends to integrate OpenPages within its Business Analytics software portfolio.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.