BusinessCisco’s $2.7 billion acquisition of Sourcefire signals a trend

Published 31 July 2013

Cisco Systems’ $2.7 billion acquisition of Sourcefire, a Columbia, Maryland-based cybersecurity firm, may be the start of trend, as firms are looking to keep hackers at bay in a more connected world. The Maryland and northern Virginia areas around Washington, D.C. have become a hub for cybersecurity companies.

Cisco Systems’s $2.7 billion acquisition of Sourcefire, a Columbia, Maryland-based cybersecurity firm, may be the start of trend, as firms are looking to keep hackers at bay in a more connected world.  

The Washington Post reports that the Washington, D.C. area, which includes Marlyland and northern Virginia, has become home to many cybersecurity companies. It helps that the National Security Agency (NSA) is located at Fort Meade, Maryland.

“These things only used to happen on the West Coast. This was homegrown, right from the state of Maryland,” Larry Letow, chairman emeritus of the Tech Council of Maryland and president and chief operating officer of Convergence Technology Consulting, told the Post. “It’s going to have a tremendous positive effect.”

“Everybody’s realizing there’s a good amount of money in cybersecurity. When you drop that kind of money on a product, you’re not fooling around,” Letow added.

Cisco has made several cybersecurity-related acquisitions, including ScanSafe for $183 million, and Cognitive Security for an undisclosed amount of money. Cisco Senior Vice President Chris Young told the Post that cyberthreats have increased not only in number, but in variety as well, as mobile devices, cloud computing, and social media have created new opportunities for cybercriminals.

There are many cybersecurity companies offering products and services to protect the systems of their clients, but different companies offer different approachest. 

Triumfant, for example, specializes in protecting all devices connected to a single network, while Sourcefire protects the network itself.

John Prisco, president and chief executive of Triumfant, said it could take years before the industry can come up with a cybersecurity solution whichinvolves protecting both sides. 

Once the Cisco deal, valued at $2.7 billion, is finalized later this year, Cisco will have to integrate Sourcefire’s system and staff and its own systems and staff.

“It’s a concern we shared with the Cisco team from the get-go — how are we going to do this and keep what’s special, interesting, unique and powerful about Sourcefire?” Martin Roesch, Sourcefire’s founder and chief technology officer, told the Post.