McAfee has acquired Onigma, an Israeli vendor of data-leak prevention software.The US$20 million acquisition was concluded last Wednesday, said Vimal Solanki, senior director of marketing with McAfee.Onigma’s FlowControl software prevents unauthorized data from being transmitted over the network by e-mail or malicious software and can prevent it from being copied to devices attached to the PC, such as USB drives or printers.McAfee plans to ship its own version of FlowControl, called the McAfee Data Loss Prevention Solution, in the first quarter of 2007. It aims to integrate the software into its ePolicy Orchestrator (EPO) architecture by mid-year, Solanki said. A beta version of the product will be available by the end of 2006. The acquisition will allow McAfee to offer enterprise users a credible product designed to prevent the kind of data breaches that have dominated headlines since early 2005, when ChoicePoint revealed that scammers had been able to gain access to the personal information of more than 150,000 U.S. residents, stored on ChoicePoint’s computers. ChoicePoint later agreed to pay $15 million in fines and other penalties for its lax security standards.“In the last 18 months, there have been over 200 high-profile information breaches,” Solanki said, but “there really isn’t a solution that a large enterprise would feel comfortable deploying.” As Microsoft’s entry into the antivirus market has threatened its consumer sales, McAfee has snapped up companies that sell software to help corporations be sure they are in compliance with regulatory and security policies.In June it purchased Preventsys, a vendor of risk management and compliance reporting software. And by early December, McAfee expects to close its $60 million acquisition of Citadel Software. Citadel sells software that guides users through the steps they need to take to meet regulatory and corporate IT policy requirements.Like FlowControl, the Preventsys and Citadel products are being integrated into the EPO architecture. A new version of the Preventsys software, set to be released Monday, will be able to access the EPO database for information that had previously been unavailable to it.The Citadel software is expected to be integrated with EPO sometime in the first quarter of 2007.By Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau)Keep checking in at our Security Feed for updated news coverage. Related content feature Top cybersecurity M&A deals for 2023 Fears of recession, rising interest rates, mass tech layoffs, and conservative spending trends are likely to make dealmakers cautious, but an ever-increasing need to defend against bigger and faster attacks will likely keep M&A activity steady in By CSO Staff Sep 22, 2023 24 mins Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and Acquisitions brandpost Unmasking ransomware threat clusters: Why it matters to defenders Similar patterns of behavior among ransomware treat groups can help security teams better understand and prepare for attacks By Joan Goodchild Sep 21, 2023 3 mins Cybercrime news analysis China’s offensive cyber operations support “soft power” agenda in Africa Researchers track Chinese cyber espionage intrusions targeting African industrial sectors. By Michael Hill Sep 21, 2023 5 mins Advanced Persistent Threats Cyberattacks Critical Infrastructure brandpost Proactive OT security requires visibility + prevention You cannot protect your operation by simply watching and waiting. It is essential to have a defense-in-depth approach. By Austen Byers Sep 21, 2023 4 mins Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe