Oracle has agreed to acquire database firewall-solutions provider Secerno. The move keeps Oracle competitive with IBM, which acquired Guardium in December. Secerno will be Oracle's first line of defense against threats from outside and inside as more people access databases through analytics and business intelligence tools.
Oracle is still integrating Sun Microsystems into its fold, but that didn't stop it from making yet another acquisition. On Thursday, Oracle agreed to acquire database firewall-solutions provider Secerno.
Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed, but the acquisition is expected to close before the end of June. Analysts said that puts Oracle in a position to compete more effectively against IBM in the database market.
In acquiring Secerno, Oracle gets firewall solutions that work with both Oracle and non-Oracle databases. Oracle is tapping into the demand for security solutions that protect databases against sophisticated hacker attacks. Secerno's technology promises to block unauthorized activity in real time.
"The Secerno acquisition is in direct response to increasing customer Relevant Products/Services challenges around mitigating database security risk," said Andrew Mendelsohn, senior vice president of Oracle Database Server Technologies.
Oracle's Plans with Secerno
He made clear that Oracle plans to use the Secerno technology as a first line of defense against threats from both the outside and within an organization. As he explained it, the firewall makes a protective perimeter around databases that will complement Oracle's other database-security solutions.
In other words, Secerno offers a missing piece that Oracle thinks will bolster its database-security suite to protect data privacy, block threats, and enable regulatory compliance. The missing piece is like the one IBM acquired last December when it scooped up Guardium, so it's not surprising that Oracle is making this acquisition. In fact, it was almost a must, according to Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.
"Secerno and Guardium, which IBM acquired, offer tools that both help to secure database assets and also to track the activities of people who are accessing that data," King said. "So you can basically be alerted to see if any particular employee is coming by a place they are supposed to stay out of or trying to slip the lock."
Monitoring Internal Database Threats
Although external threats are real, King said internal threats are just as possible in a world where customer sales and credit data can be used for personal profit. With business analytics and business intelligence tools, King noted, companies can search databases for actionable insights that drive revenue. But in doing so, it opens up the database to new groups of users.
Logically speaking, the greater number of people who have access to the database, the greater the threat. It's critical to secure such data because it's subject to regulatory compliance. When customer information leaks from the database, it tends to make national headlines in a hurry.
"Secerno, it's a great additive technology that Oracle is very wise to have purchased for its own offerings," King said. "Between IBM's Guardium deal in December and now Oracle's deal, I think it will probably be considered a must-have type of technology for players in the database market."
Source:newsfactor.com
