Email security firm Mimecast has significantly bolstered its security offerings by acquiring cybersecurity veteran Code42. The deal brings on board 175 additional employees and a strong reputation in data protection. While the financial terms of the acquisition remain undisclosed, Code42’s CEO, Joe Payne, will continue to advise Mimecast.
Code42, founded in 2001, has made serious strides in recent years with its data protection platform, Incydr, which helps organizations safeguard sensitive data from unauthorized access and exfiltration. The company has particularly focused on enhancing its ability to detect the unauthorized movement of source code.
“Mimecast’s platform stands out in our crowded industry by focusing specifically on the critical moment of risk—a person opening their laptop,” said Mimecast CEO Marc van Zadelhoff in a press release. “Unlike fragmented point solutions, Mimecast provides a connected approach that is engineered to offer complete visibility and strategic insight across customers’ ecosystems, enabling intervention that helps them prevent costly incidents caused by insider risk and data exfiltration. Integrating leading solutions like Code42 broadens and deepens our proven security and human risk management capabilities.”
Expanding security footprint
Code42 is fairly savvy at safeguarding businesses from data breaches, loss, and theft while enabling swift incident response, and with this acquisition, Mimecast aims to provide customers with a more comprehensive view of their security landscape.
Mimecast will maintain ongoing support for existing Code42 customers and plans to integrate Code42’s data loss prevention capabilities into its platform. This integration will offer customers access to Code42’s Incydr product, expanding the range of security solutions available to them.
“Employee collaboration is at the heart of successful organizations today,” said Payne. “Protecting organizations from data exfiltration requires enhanced visibility into risky user activities across email, collaboration platforms, web, cloud, and more. By joining forces with Mimecast, we can help customers quickly detect and respond to threats across their expansive digital environments.”
Addressing the human factor
This move is about recognizing that people are often the weakest link in security. By combining forces with Code42, Mimecast aims to better understand and prevent human error that can lead to data breaches.
Building on Mimecast’s focus on employee education, this partnership brings together two companies with a shared goal: protecting businesses from insider threats and data loss. By combining their expertise in email security, data loss prevention, and user behavior analytics, the two companies aim to offer a more comprehensive and updated approach to cybersecurity. The partnership appears to signal a growing industry focus on addressing human error as a primary threat vector.
Read more about how human error can often represent the greatest challenge or risk to an organization’s security.