Juniper splashes £80m on 'intrusion deception' firm

Juniper Networks has acquired intrusion prevention firm Mykonos Software for $80 million, as it looks to up its security game against rivals like Cisco.

According to the networking firm, Mykonos offers the only intrusion prevention system in the industry "capable of detecting an attacker before an attack is in progress."

Mykonos places what it calls "a random and variable minefield" over web applications by inserting various "detection points" in bits of the app's code, in areas like forms and server files.

The company tries to ensnare hackers during their reconnaissance phase of their attacks, meaning it holds a niche position in the security market. Mykonos also calls its product an "intrusion deception system."

Once hackers have been caught, Mykonos can then track them beyond their IP addresses by identifying the attackers' device.

"Mykonos' intrusion deception technology is an innovative defence against zero-day web attacks, automated hacker tools, malicious web content, and similar threats aimed at companies' websites and web applications," said Jeff Wilson, principal analyst atInfonetics Research.

"There are opportunities for Juniper to sell standalone and integrated versions of the Mykonos solution."

David Koretz, chairman and chief executive officer Mykonos Software, was excited by the prospect of taking the product to bigger firms.

"We believe the combination of Mykonos' ground breaking technology and Juniper's proven expertise in delivering innovative security products at the largest scale, will enable us to provide solutions to immediate and pressing security threats for the largest enterprises and public sector institutions," Koretz said.

Juniper will be hoping to bounce back in 2012 after a weak 2011. The company's fourth quarter results showed revenue declining six per cent year-over-year, marking a poor end to the year that surprised the company's owners.