Symantec has announced the acquisitions of Appthority, to boost its mobile app security portfolio, and Javelin, which specialises in defence against Active Directory-based attacks.

Appthority technology will be built into SEP Mobile, Symantec’s app for protection against mobile-based cyber attacks.

Symantec said the Appthority acquisition will give its customers the ability to analyse mobile apps for malicious capabilities and unwanted behaviours.

“Mobile apps are a critical threat vector that every company must address to protect their enterprise security,” said Adi Sharabani, SVP of Modern OS Security at Symantec.

“The Appthority technology extends SEP Mobile’s capabilities in limiting unwanted app behaviours, supporting regulatory compliance, and assessing vulnerabilities.”

SEP Mobile analyses a public Wi-Fi network and sends notifications to the user, while protecting against unwanted “leaky” apps that compromise user info.

San Francisco based Appthority was founded in 2011 and specialises in enterprise mobility security.

Prior to the acquisition, Appthority came under Symantec Ventures, the company’s investment platform for early-stage cybersecurity startups that was formed last year.

Appthority Acquisition: Platform Built Into SEP Mobile

Symantec also announced the acquisition of Javelin Networks, which offers software that specialises in defence against Active Directory-based attacks.

Microsoft’s Active Directory has become a popular option for attackers — multiple advanced persistent threat campaigns have recently used Active Directory credentials to move around a network.

“The addition of Javelin technology to our industry-leading endpoint security portfolio gives Symantec customers a unique advantage in one of the most vulnerable and critical areas of IT infrastructure,” said SVP of endpoint and datacentre products at Symantec Javed Hasan.

“Most importantly, it can help expose exploitable backdoors in AD and stop attacks at the point of breach while preventing lateral movement.”Appthority acquisition

Upon its formation in 2014, Javelin developed software to protect “every machine in the world” connected to Active Directory, as well as commonly-used domain resources.

Both Appthority and Javelin immediately become part of Synamtec’s endpoint security business.

Symantec said it is committed to securing modern endpoints and operating systems, such as iOS and Android.

It acquired Skycure last year to accommodate security to the increasing number of bring-your-own-devices at enterprises

The company revealed its financial results for Q2 2019 last week, including enterprise revenue of $574 million, missing estimates of $585.9 million.

Symantec CEO Gregory Clark said in a conference call that the company is concerned about momentum loss in enterprise.

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