Oracle buys Secerno to get database firewall
- 21 May, 2010 23:47
- Comments
Oracle has bought UK database security startup Secerno for an undisclosed sum, bringing to an end the independence of one of the last decade's most unusual UK-based startups.
As Techworld pointed out in the first news item ever written on the company just before its 2006 product launch, UK technology start-ups with saleable products are a rarity. For one to get bought for decent money in short order is vanishingly rare. More often, the UK tech start-ups, especially university spin-offs, sell on their IP for pennies or just fade away to nothing.
The deal is expected to close at the end of June, after which Oracle will incorporate the company's DataWall database firewall, a multi-platform system used to analyse transactions for suspicious queries.
Apart from working across different databases, including virtualised databases, the system's strength is that it can work in real time by comparing each query to an established profile of what is 'normal' for that database. Unusual queries - typical of hacking attempts - are blocked.
"Secerno's database firewall product acts as a first line of defence against external threats and unauthorised internal access with a protective perimeter around Oracle and non-Oracle databases," said Oracle's database senior vice president, Andrew Mendelsohn.
The official press release did not make clear which of Secerno's team will remain in place but the assumption is that the core, including CEO Steve Hurn, and original co-founder and CTO, Steve Moyle, will be among them. Co-founder Paul Davie departed the company earlier this year.
The sale will have been driven in part by Secerno's big-shot investors, one of which is Amadeus Capital Partners, itself co-founded by Hermann Hauser, a key figure in the setting up of the famous Acorn microcomputer company in the 1980s. That company in turn spun out ARM, the chip used today in the iPhone and many other low-power devices.
Recommended
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.
- Bookmark this page
- Share this article
- Got more on this story? Email CIO
- Follow CIO on twitter
-
Solving the skills conundrum – part 1
-
Australia suspected to have PRISM data: Ludlam
-
Australia Post’s mail business to lose $200 million this year
-
Australia Post’s mail business to lose $200 million this year
-
Microsoft's ambivalence about Office on the Web gives Apple shot with iWork on iCloud
-
Moving to a Private Cloud? Infrastructure Really Matters!
The Cloud isn’t about locality. It is about quality of service delivery, cost, and whether the services consumed satisfy our objectives. For the enterprise, you need to select the right QoS to mitigate the inherent risks or you face the problem of losing data and the ability to execute operationally. Read on. -
Building a Better Mousetrap in Anti-Malware
This story is becoming frustratingly old. Cyber threats are continuously advancing in their adaptability speed, sophistication, and degree of stealthiness. At the same time, the exposed footprint is expanding. More business operations are moving online and end-user devices—corporate-issued and user-owned—are expanding in number and variety. A reasonable question asked by executives responsible for making decisions on their organisations’ security budgets is whether their money and resources are being spent wisely. Are their businesses buying and using the best mix of security technologies to meet their needs and obligations? Read on. -
Power of Three: Building Mobile Initiatives Guided by Business Goals, Technology and Governance
The use of powerful mobile devices has become so widespread industry leaders in almost every sector have embraced mobility solutions as central elements of their IT and business operations. As mobile budgets grow, so does the influence of business units on mobility strategy. Read on.
Get exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis. 
