AT&T Closes AlienVault Deal, Launches Cybersecurity Business Unit

AT&T completed its deal to buy open-source threat intelligence firm AlienVault Wednesday and said its newly acquired security technology will become part of a cybersecurity business division led by AlienVault's CEO, Barmak Meftah.

AT&T’s new cybersecurity solutions business unit has been tasked with making AlienVault's cybersecurity technologies and the carrier's existing security capabilities accessible to all businesses, including Fortune 100 companies, all the way down the chain to local mom-and-pop stores. That's because no company is immune from increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, the carrier said in a statement.

Dallas-based AT&T first unveiled its plan to acquire AlienVault in July to expand the reach of its enterprise-grade security solutions to smaller businesses. With the deal closed, AT&T's business customers now have access to Intel-backed AlienVault's security management platform for threat detection and response solutions.

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Now combined, AT&T said it will support and expand AlienVault’s investment in its multichannel sales ecosystem, which today includes VARs, distributor and MSP partners focused on managed security solutions.

San Mateo, Calif.-based AlienVault offers detection and threat response tools through its foundational Unified Security Management Platform. The firm also offers Open Threat Exchange, a public, crowd-sourced platform that security professionals can use to share threat information. These offerings will be combined with AT&T’s portfolio of managed cybersecurity services and network visibility solutions, the carrier said.

AT&T's new stand-alone cybersecurity solutions business division will be headed by Meftah, who has been named president of AT&T Cybersecurity Solutions and CEO of AlienVault. He will report to Thaddeus Arroyo, CEO of AT&T Business.

Meftah will continue to build on his company's technology and threat research, according to the two companies.

“Together, we have the opportunity to simplify a complex problem and automate how customers tackle their cybersecurity needs,” Meftah said in a statement. “We will combine our phenomenal threat detection, incident response and compliance security platform with AT&T’s managed security capabilities, making near-real-time threat information actionable and achievable.”

Financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.