In an effort to build the security portion of their business, Cisco has agreed to buy cloud-based security company OpenDNS for $635 million. This is not the first security company that Cisco has bought recently. In 2014 they acquired Neohapsis, a security advisory company and ThreatGRID, which specializes in malware analysis and threat detection, among other tech companies to continue to expand their offerings.
The acquisition of OpenDNS isn’t too surprising since Cisco was one of many who provided funding to OpenDNS in May 2014. Cisco provided them with $35 million at that time. With the OpenDNS as a tool, Cisco is closer to its goal of providing cloud-level security for clients. This security is extremely important because users aren’t accessing their data from one singular device in the way that they used to. Now, people are using several different devices including desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets and smartphones.
What does OpenDNS do?
When OpenDNS was started in 2006, the company’s focus was on maintaining a network of domain name servers with which they would reroute Web traffic in an efficient manner. This allows OpenDNS’s clients to be able to access websites and data more quickly. Over the time that they’ve been in business, OpenDNS has shifted its focus to providing cloud-level security. OpenDNS can identify and block threats and attacks that traditional firewalls, antivirus and anti-malware measures would miss. It does this by identifying and blocking the threat before it actually reaches the device. OpenDNS servers translate code before it reaches the computer. OpenDNS is implementing its preventative security measures at this point.
Security is changing
OpenDNS’s approach to security is a little different than the traditional route. This is a growing trend in the industry. The ways in which companies have been conducting their security isn’t working. There are new cyberattacks happening frequently. New security measures, like the ones that OpenDNS is purportedly providing, are how these threats will be dealt with in the future.
You need multiple forms of security
You’re never going to be 100 percent safe from all threats, but you can be safe from many of them. While the services that OpenDNS are providing will certainly help keep information and internet-connected devices safe, traditional security measures should still be installed. If all else fails, you need to have something in place to make sure that all of your information isn’t lost. This means having layers of security on many different levels. Just having security on the level that OpenDNS is providing isn’t enough, nor is only having the best firewall and antivirus software available.
