Zscaler is set to be the industry’s first security vendor to integrate active defence into a Zero Trust architecture

Zscaler will acquire Smokescreen in order to enhance Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange with advanced active defence Capabilities.

Zscaler, the leader in cloud security, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Smokescreen Technologies, a leader in active defence and deception technology. Smokescreen’s cutting edge capabilities will be integrated into the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™, further building upon Zscaler’s ability to precisely detect the most sophisticated, highly targeted attacks, ransomware, and lateral movement attempts. Additionally, Smokescreen will help provide rich threat intelligence and telemetry for the Zscaler team to proactively hunt for emerging adversary tactics and techniques. The transaction is subject to standard closing conditions and is expected to close during Zscaler’s fiscal fourth-quarter ending July 31, 2021.

proactive, not reactive

“Alert volume has never been higher. Security teams can’t separate the signal from the noise to take a proactive stance against the most stealthy attackers,” said Sahir Hidayatullah, CEO at Smokescreen. “As analysts lose time chasing ghosts, the role of active defence has never been more critical. By taking the fight to the attacker, leading them down false paths with decoys deployed across networks, endpoints, and applications, and gathering the highest-fidelity security telemetry, we can dramatically speed up threat hunting and containment. We are thrilled to join Zscaler and look forward to integrating our technology into the world’s leading zero trust platform.”

In contrast to traditional reactive security measures, active defence uses proactive tactics to thwart the most advanced attackers with high-confidence detections across the lifecycle of an attack. It allows businesses to rebalance the defensive equation in their favour, identifying intrusions before attackers compromise vital company data and resources. Smokescreen is fully aligned with MITRE Shield, a framework for organisations to effectively apply active defence in their security operations workflows.

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“Today’s most sophisticated cyber threats, like the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, require immediate, high-confidence detections to drive effective response,” said Jay Chaudhry, CEO, chairman and founder, Zscaler. “Zscaler is proud to be the industry’s first security vendor to extend a zero trust architecture with integrated active defence and deception capabilities. With the addition of Smokescreen to our Zero Trust Exchange, our customers will be able to change the economics of cyberattacks by making them far more costly, complex and difficult for the adversary both before and during their attempted intrusions. I am pleased to welcome the Smokescreen team to the Zscaler family, and I look forward to our continued innovations in cybersecurity.”

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Amber Donovan-Stevens

Amber is a Content Editor at Top Business Tech

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