Tenable is acquiring Bit Discovery, a security company that develops external attack surface management (EASM) software. The purchase price is $44.5 million. The deal's valuation based on an annual EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) multiple was not disclosed.
This is technology M&A deal number 415 that MSSP Alert and sister site ChannelE2E have covered so far in 2022.
Attack Surface Management M&A: Tuck-In Security Acquisition
This is mainly a technology and intellectual property acquisition rather than a revenue grab. The evidence: Bit Discovery has eight employees listed on LinkedIn. The company, founded in 2018, is based in Santa Clara, California. Bit Discovery's revenue is "not expected to be significant" during the second half of Tenable's fiscal year, the buyer indicated.
Bit Discovery was backed by private equity ahead of the company sale. The startup in 2021 had raised $4 million in Series B financing led by Mighty Capital and return investor Aligned Partners.
Tenable sees specific synergies from the acquisition. Combining Tenable’s Cyber Exposure solutions with Bit Discovery’s EASM capabilities will provide customers with a" differentiated 360-degree view of the modern attack surface – both inside out and outside in – to identify and eliminate areas of known and unknown security risk," the buyer said.
In a prepared statement about the deal, Glen Pendley, chief technology officer at Tenable, said:
“Whatever is visible on the internet is very likely to be the first target and the hardest thing for organizations to continuously see and assess. We believe attack surface management is vital to modern cybersecurity and an integral part of our vulnerability and Cyber Exposure solutions. We are seamlessly combining previously disjointed insights and empowering security practitioners to eliminate blind spots and easily understand their cyber exposure in ways previously not possible.”
Added Jeremiah Grossman, CEO and co-founder of Bit Discovery:
“Bit Discovery’s founding mission is to help enterprises identify their internet-facing attack surface area and continually monitor and manage their exposure. Joining Tenable will give us the ability to instantly reach 40,000 global customers, accelerating our vision in ways that would have otherwise been impossible. This capability combined with the insights provided by Tenable’s solutions is a compelling chance to change the market.”
Additional Tenable Security Acquisitions
Tenable has been busy on the M&A front. Additional acquisitions include:
Furthermore, Tenable partners with MSSPs and updated its partner portal in January 2021. Tenable allows MSSPs to use its platform to deliver cloud-based vulnerability management services.
