Cisco Systems agreed to acquire Riverhead Networks, a start-up based in Cupertino, California for its security technology that protects against Distributed Denial of Service ("DDoS") attacks and other security threats in enterprise and service provider networks.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay approximately $39 million in cash for all outstanding shares not already held by Cisco and will convert outstanding Riverhead options to Cisco options.
Riverhead's technology compares traffic flows to learned profiles of normal traffic patterns, behavior, and protocol compliance. Using this information, Riverhead can identify and mitigate a broad range of known as well as previously unseen security attacks.
Cisco said DDoS attacks represent a severe threat to the availability of network and data center resources and can severely impact enterprises and service providers. The acquisition enhances Cisco's "Self Defending Network" strategy of deploying proactive, self-defending, and self-healing networks, and building advanced security into the network infrastructure. http://www.cisco.com
- Riverhead was founded in 2000 and has 44 employees. The company is headed by Yuval Rachmilevitz, who previously held a variety of senior positions at Gilat Satellite Networks and also served 11 years in the Israel Defense Forces. Its technical team also includes Prof. Yehuda Afek from Tel Aviv University.
- Earlier this month, Cisco Systems announced plans to acquire Twingo Systems, a start-up based in Mountain View, California, for approximately $5 million in cash. Twingo Systems develops desktop security solutions for Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
