Symantec to Acquire Gideon Technologies

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – January 12, 2010 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC), today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Gideon Technologies, Inc., a provider of standards-based information security solutions that automate and orchestrate IT security and risk management.

Symantec is acquiring Gideon Technologies to extend Symantec’s security portfolio with a leading Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) validated configuration and vulnerability assessment solution and to enhance its ability to serve the needs of public sector customers. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the March quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions. The financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.

SCAP is a suite of specifications that standardize the format and nomenclature by which security software products communicate software flaw and security configuration information. It is used to automate vulnerability and patch checking, technical control compliance activities and security measurement. This standard is a requirement of the U.S. federal government which represents the largest and most diverse computing environment in the world. Interoperability and sharing data within this environment is essential to address the evolving threat landscape.

“As the U.S. Government continues to make the cyber security of our country’s public and private infrastructures a priority, Symantec will support public sector customers with standards-based solutions that meet their complex compliance requirements with the highest degree of accuracy,” said Gigi Schumm, vice president and general manager public sector, Symantec. “As demonstrated by this acquisition, Symantec is committed to SCAP and emerging standards and intends to lead the ongoing advancement of these standards.”

The acquisition of Gideon Technologies’ SecureFusion product will complement Symantec’s compliance offerings and integrate with the Symantec Management Platform (formerly the Altiris platform). The addition of SecureFusion will help Symantec provide customers with one of the industry’s most comprehensive automated situational awareness, continuous compliance and remediation management capabilities in the marketplace. As the security market leader, Symantec is dedicated to making security data available in standards-based formats and leveraging its entire technology portfolio for automating the delivery of this data across systems to perform timely proactive and defensive measures.

Source: Symantec