SAIC [SAI] said yesterday it has agreed to acquire CloudShield Technologies, a cyber security firm based in Silicon Valley, which provides solutions to telecommunications companies, federal and international customers.
CloudShield provides deep packet inspection (DPI) solutions, which enable applications that secure communications networks, prevent data loss, enable advanced billing and user management, and reduce the cost of traditional switching in a data center. SAIC said the acquisition will help it bring to market DPI solutions for high speed networks for federal and commercial customers.
“This acquisition is an integral component of our enterprise cyber strategy and provides us with technology to help build a solid foundation for the development of solution- focused applications,” Stu Shea, who heads SAIC’s Intelligence, Security and Technology Group, said in a statement.
SAIC has been working with CloudShield, a spokesman for Paladin Capital Group, a private equity firm that currently owns CloudShield, told Defense Daily.
“As the technological landscape becomes more complex, our customers need to identify new ways to manage high-bandwidth IP-based data services. The increasing demands of file sharing, streaming videos and other services on existing infrastructure are driving the sales of our solutions,” Matt Jones, CEO of CloudShield, said in a statement.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. SAIC expects to complete the purchase by mid-February. CloudShield has 85 employees. Paladin said that CloudShield has increased annual sales tenfold since acquiring the company in 2004. Federal sales in particular have been “robust,” the Paladin spokesman said.
Last summer, SAIC acquired Atlan, a small firm that does cyber security product testing (Defense Daily, July 14, 2009).