IBM to acquire Randori, bolstering its cyber security

IBM has announced its plans to acquire Randori, an attack surface management (ASM) and cybersecurity platform based in the Boston area.

According to Randori, it helps clients identify external facing assets, both on-premise or in the cloud, that are visible to attackers – and prioritise exposures which pose the greatest risk. IBM's acquisition, revealed during the RSAC 2022 conference, is set to further the tech giant's Hybrid Cloud strategy.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the transaction is expected to close in the next few months, subject to customary closing conditions and any required regulatory reviews.

Upon close of the acquisition, IBM plans to integrate Randori's attack surface management software with the extended detection and response (XDR) capabilities of IBM Security QRadar. Security teams will be able to leverage real-time attack surface visibility for intelligent alert triage, threat hunting, and incident response. 

Mary O'Brien, General Manager, IBM Security, said: "Our clients today are faced with managing a complex technology landscape of accelerating cyberattacks targeted at applications running across a variety of hybrid cloud environments – from public clouds, private clouds and on-premises. In this environment, it is essential for organisations to arm themselves with the attacker's perspective in order to help find their most critical blind spots and focus their efforts on areas that will minimise business disruption and damages to revenue and reputation."

Staying ahead of todays threats

Founded in 2018, Randori is a hacker led company, with software to help security teams discover gaps, assess risks, and improve their security posture over time by delivering an authentic attack experience at scale.

Designed to help security teams zero in on previously unknown exposure points, Randori's unique attack surface management solution takes into account the logic of an adversary based on real-world attacks. 

"We started Randori to ensure every organisation has access to the attacker's perspective. To stay ahead of today's threats, you need to know what's exposed and how attackers view your environment - that's exactly what Randori provides. By joining forces with IBM, we can greatly accelerate this vision and strategy - leveraging IBM's deep expertise in AI, threat intelligence, offensive security and global reach. Together, we can arm the industry with the attacker's perspective – helping to give every organisation the visibility and insight needed to get in front of the next wave of attacks," said Brian Hazzard, Co-Founder & CEO at Randori.

Headquartered in Waltham, MA, with offices in Denver, CO, Randori is backed by Accomplice, .406 Ventures, Harmony Partners and Legion Capital. 

It is IBM's fourth acquisition in 2022 as the company continues to bolster its hybrid cloud and AI skills and capabilities, including in cybersecurity. IBM has acquired more than 20 companies since Arvind Krishna became CEO in April 2020.