Disruptive cloud-based IT, security and compliance solutions provider Qualys has acquired the assets of Blue Hexagon, bringing AI/machine learning to the Qualys Cloud Platform to help convert petabytes of highly integrated data into meaningful insights for customers.
The acquisition will enable Qualys to leverage its powerful Cloud Platform and its more than 10 trillion data points to uncover behaviour patterns, including active vulnerability exploitation, identification of advanced network threats and adaptive risk mitigation across all assets and applications. T
his dynamic combination of highly integrated security data with machine learning technology will bring predictive and automated reduction of cyber security risk to Qualys customers.
"The team and I are delighted to join such an innovative, industry-leading cloud security company," says Nayeem Islam, CEO and Co-Founder of Blue Hexagon.
"Our deep learning-based Network Detection and Response products augment Qualys massive security data lake with network data and deep learning, enabling enhanced security risk assessment and detection."
Blue Hexagon is an AI/ML innovator of Cloud Threat Detection and Response solutions enabling enterprises to adopt the public cloud securely through real-time detection of several types of cloud attacks, from supply chain infection in containers and storage, to crypto miners and APTs with command and control, to unauthorised activity from malicious actors.
The Blue Hexagon AI/ML technology will be integrated throughout the Qualys Cloud Platform allowing customers to:
Detect active vulnerability exploitations
Blue Hexagon's AI/ML-based threat detection capability, integrated into Qualys VMDR, will augment vulnerability assessment by detecting active exploitations based on behaviour patterns and suspicious activities over the network.
Implement adaptive risk mitigation
Leverage the Qualys Cloud Platform for predictive analytics to reduce the risk of open vulnerabilities and threats including exposure of business-critical assets with adaptive mitigations.
Augment detection and response with the context of network threats
Blue Hexagon's AI/ML-driven network detection will allow Qualys Multi-Vector EDR and Context XDR to collect, inspect and analyse network telemetry, protocols and traffic in an agentless manner, including encrypted traffic, for early signs of ransomware and malware attacks.
"It is a pleasure to welcome the brightest minds in AI/ML and cybersecurity to the Qualys team," says Sumedh Thakar, President and CEO of Qualys.
"Qualys mission is helping organisations identify and reduce cyber risks, and the blue hexagon platform will enable us to provide powerful context-aware insights that will enhance our customers' cyber resilience."
The Qualys Cloud Platform leverages a single agent to continuously deliver critical security intelligence while enabling enterprises to automate the full spectrum of vulnerability detection, compliance and protection for IT systems, workloads and web applications across on premises, endpoints, servers, public and private clouds, containers and mobile devices.
All Blue Hexagon employees are joining the Qualys team with Nayeem Islam becoming Vice President of product management for the threat analytics platform. The purchase price was paid predominantly in cash, with a portion delivered in the form of stock subject to certain vesting conditions. The transaction closed on October 4, 2022.