NexDefense, an Atlanta-based cybersecurity company that protects industrial control systems, has been acquired for an undisclosed amount by Maryland-based Dragos. Dragos has been growing rapidly since raising a $37 million Series B last November.
The three-year old Dragos also focuses on protecting industrial systems from cyberthreats through behavior analytics, security operations, and incident response workflows. NexDefense’s technology will be integrated into Dragos’ offerings.
NexDefense, founded in 2012 by Derek Harp, Michael Assante, and Mike Sayre, with help from Atlanta cybersecurity pioneer Tom Noonan, was initially formed to commercialize a technology called “Sophia”, which came out of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory.
Sophia, later re-named Integrity, provides visibility into the networks that control manufacturing and energy plants, transportation infrastructure, and building systems. Integrity will now be offered for free as part of Dragos Community Tools, a first-step approach for potential clients to assess and understand the threats they might be facing.
“Dragos is committed to safeguarding civilization, and central to this mission is finding ways to provide tools and resources for the entire community,” said Robert M. Lee, CEO and Founder of Dragos.
In a statement, Dragos calls NexDefense “one of the earliest and most well-known” security companies in the space. In 2017, NexDefense CEO Jeff Spence told Hypepotamus that they were one of very few U.S. companies focusing on these industries in regards to cybersecurity.
Prior to this, NexDefense had raised just over $8 million in venture funding. Investors include Mosley Ventures, Knoll Ventures, and BIP Capital. Some members of the NexDefense engineering team will join Dragos, according to a company representative.
