Accenture bulks up threat intelligence offerings with iDefense acquisition

Accenture is acquiring cyberthreat intelligence business iDefense Security Intelligent Services from VeriSign in a move to ramp up its ability to help organisations better understand where threats are coming from and adjust protections before damage is done.

No financial details of the deal were disclosed. iDefense's client base includes top-tier organisations across industries including banking, communications, media and technology.

Accenture will embed iDefense's targeted threat intelligence into its services and says iDefense's capabilities will also become an integral part of its adversary simulation, threat hunting and incident response services.

The professional services company says iDefense has amassed 'vast' amounts of proprietary threat intelligence data over the plast 18 years, with that data used to power its application program interfaces and analysis platform, IntelGraph.

"Accenture will fuel its cybersecurity platform with these capabilities to enhance its ability to inform clients where threats are forming and comign from, and what actions to take," Accenture says. It claims it will be able to do this 'much earlier' than other providers leveraging public data feeds.

Kelly Bissell, Accenture Security managing director, says: "There simply isn't enough time, budget or human resources to defend against every imaginable attack scenario or adversary without intelligent systems and automation.

"That's why having the best available threat intelligence is critical to helping us protect our clients' entire value chains, allowing them to focus on innovation and growth.

Bissell says the collective capabilities of Accenture Security and iDefense will help organisations better understand where threats are coming from and adjust protections before damage is done.

The acquistion, which is subject to standard closing conditions, continues Accenture's buy-up of security businesses, which has seen it acquire advanced cyber defence and response services company Defense Point Secuirty, FusionX and Maglan in recent times.

The company is also in the process of acquiring United States based Endgame Federal Services Business.