IBM to buy Trusteer

ibm-officeIBM has coughed up the readies to acquire IT security company Trusteer, which it hopes will help boost its portfolio in advanced threat management and application security.

Big Blue is putting together a cybersecurity software lab in Tel Aviv, Israel comprised of over 200 IBM and Trusteer researchers, in addition to the company’s existing R&D in Israel. Together, they will focus specifically on mobile and application security, advanced threat, counter fraud, malware, and financial crime.

IBM security will take advantage of Trusteer’s knowledge in security as a service through the cloud, as well as counter-fraud and advanced persistent threat protection. Additionally, Trusteer points out in a statement, that half of the top 25 US financial institutions offer mobile finance management, meaning advanced security needs to be in place to protect the institutions and their customers.

IBM wants to roll Trusteer’s expertise into its own range of software and services, such as QRadar, i2, SPSS, InfoSphere, and Enterprise Content Management.

In a statement, Trusteer’s CEO Mickey Boodaei said the way organisations are protecting data is quickly evolving. “As attacks become more sophisticated, traditional approaches to securing enterprise and mobile data are no longer valid,” Boodaei said, adding that Trusteer already has large banks as customers.