Security startup builds out with Neohapsis buy

Security services startup KSR Inc has acquired Neohapsis Inc and plans to make two more acquisitions before the end of the year, towards its goal of creating a player in the growing managed security services marketplace.

Year-old KSR's expansion is backed closely by $1.5bn Silicon Valley venture capital firm Trident Capital. KSR chief executive Mark Iwanowski, a Trident partner, said KSR is also about to bring in another strategic investor that has very close ties to the US government.

The acquisition of Neohapsis, a Chicago-based professional services firm, is KSR's second this year, following the February acquisition of Sitelite, but is unlikely to the be the last such deal this year, according to Iwanowski.

We believe there's an 18 to 24 month opportunity to get out ahead in this market, so we're aggressive in terms of growth, he said.

KSR offers a combination of security consulting and managed security services, he said. While the MSSP market to date has been generally concerned with the remote management of edge security devices like firewalls and intrusion prevention systems, KSR wants to go deeper into the corporate network, managing the security stance of databases and applications, Iwanowski said.

The company expects to be competing with the likes of IBM, Symantec and VeriSign. The Neohapsis deal brings on board 30 employees, bringing KSR's total to 100.

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