[ISN] McAfee buys security compliance vendor for $60 million

From: InfoSec News (alerts@private)
Date: Tue Oct 03 2006 - 23:18:15 PDT


http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/100306-mcafee-buys-security-compliance-vendor.html

By Ben Ames
IDG News Service
10/03/06

McAfee will pay $60 million to acquire Citadel Security Software, a 
producer of security compliance products that ensure corporate employees 
are using assigned IT policies.

The deal comes four months after McAfee paid $10 million to acquire 
PreventSys, also a vendor of risk management and compliance reporting 
software. McAfee said in March that it aimed to acquire companies in 
wireless security and Internet surfing.

The new acquisition will buttress McAfee's existing compliance 
enforcement products, such as ePolicy Orchestrator, Preventsys, Policy 
Enforcer and Foundstone, said McAfee President Kevin Weiss.

Security compliance is a growing area of concern for IT administrators. 
McAfee competitor Symantec said last week that it will install a 
security product in the firmware of Intel chips to stop hackers and 
users from disabling security protections.

Citadel's software guides computer users through automated steps to 
ensure they meet regulatory requirements and internal policies. McAfee 
could now extend that application to a potential 45 million desktop PCs 
subscribed to ePolicy Orchestrator.

Citadel, of Dallas, was delisted by the Nasdaq stock exchange in May 
after its share price fell below $1. The company's troubles continued 
through the second quarter of 2006, when it posted a $2.4 million loss 
on revenue of $2.9 million earned from sales of its flagship Hercules 
enterprise vulnerability management software. Hercules customers it 
listed then included the U.S. departments of Treasury and Defense, and 
private sector businesses including State Street Bank and Verizon.

McAfee, of Santa Clara, expects to close the Citadel transaction by the 
fourth quarter of 2006, following stockholder and regulatory approval. 
The company did not say whether it would retain Citadel's 42 employees.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.


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