Palo Alto Networks has acquired Twistlock, an Israel-based cybersecurity startup that protects container, serverless and public cloud systems, according to Israel-based media reports. Twistlock's technology claims to lock down such systems as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Docker, Kubernetes and Pivotal, among others.
Updated May 29, 2019, 10:12 a.m. ET: Palo Alto will pay $450 million to $500 million for Twistlock, and a second deal may also be announced soon, according to Globes, an Israel-focused business site.
MSSP Alert has not independently confirmed the Palo Alto Networks-Twistlock buyout report. We've reached out to both companies for comment about the report, and will update this article if/when we receive a reply.
Rumors about the deal surface roughly one week before Palo Alto Networks Ignite19, a customer and partner conference scheduled for June 3-6 in Austin, Texas.
Twistlock Cybersecurity Focus, Capabilities
Twistlock positions itself as a cloud-native security platform that can protect "all your workloads regardless of what underlying compute technology powers them." A recent release of Twistlock provides vulnerability management, compliance, runtime defense, firewalling and access control across all VMs in all clouds, the company asserted in March 2019.
Twistlock's first software release surfaced in November 2015. The company raised $17 million in Series B funding by April 2017 -- led by Polaris Partners.
Twistlock's partner program, unveiled in June 2018, is designed for resellers, technology partners and systems integrators. The company does not specifically mention MSPs and MSSPs on its partner program landing page -- but such major MSSPs and cybersecurity consulting firms as Accenture, Deloitte, EY, Fishtech and Optiv work with the company. Also, distributor Synnex is listed as a partner.
Palo Alto Networks and MSSP Partners
Palo Alto Networks, meanwhile, has been ramping up its MSSP-centric partner program. Armor and RestorePoint are the latest companies to officially join the Palo Alto Networks RedLock MSSP partner program. Palo Alto Networks also positioned its recent Demisto acquisition specifically for MSSPs.
Palo Alto Networks remains in growth mode, but competition continues to heat up on multiple fronts. SonicWall has revitalized and expanded its business since spinning off from Dell Technologies in November 2016. Barracuda Networks has successfully pushed deep into the MSP partner market with email and data protection solutions. Fortinet pioneered the MSSP partner model. And CheckPoint unveiled a new global partner program for solutions providers in February 2019.
