Symantec Acquires Encryption Companies, PGP, GuardianEdge

Symantec announced plans to acquire encryption specialists PGP and GuardianEdge Technologies.

Under the terms of the agreements, Symantec will buy PGP for $300 million and GuardianEdge for $70 million. The plans represent something of a reversal for the company, which had previously declined to buy into the encryption market even as McAfee purchased SafeBoot and Sophos grabbed Utimaco.

According to Symantec, the acquisitions will put the company in position to take advantage of moves by state and federal governments to enact compliance mandates such as the UK Data Protection Act that require encryption of sensitive data.