Network security vendor Check Point made its first move into the data protection space today, spending $586 million for Protect Data, which owns Swedish mobile and storage security specialist Pointsec. (See Check Point Buys Protect Data.)
Until now, Check Point has focused on firewall and VPN software, although Gil Shwed, the vendor's CEO has his eye on locking down different types of enterprise data, from laptops and PDAs to removable storage media. (See Check Point Extends Security, Check Point Launches VPN-1, and Check Point Enhances NGX.)
"This is the first step in an expansion strategy," he said, during a conference call to discuss the cash tender offer this morning. "More and more data is now stored on these endpoint devices that can find themselves in the wrong hands."
There are a number of product lines within Pointsec's security software portfolio: hard-disk encryption; user identification for laptops, smartphones, and USB devices; and media encryption for flash memory drives.
Mobile data security is a hot topic at the moment, following a string of high profile security breaches and storage snafus. (See Data Security: None of Your Business?, Analysis: Storage Security , and Social Engineering, the USB Way.) The Department of Veterans' Affairs, for example, made headlines earlier this when a laptop theft put 26.5 million veterans and family members at risk of identity theft and fraud. (See VA Reports Massive Data Theft and Laptop Liabilities.)
