Netskope acquires WootCloud, extending Zero Trust capabilities to Enterprise IoT
Contextual Intelligence derived with machine learning helps customers identify, assess and remediate threats from IoT devices on their networks, achieving full visibility and control
Netskope, the leader in Security Service Edge (SSE) and Zero Trust, recently announced it has acquired WootCloud, an innovator in applying Zero Trust principles to IoT security. The acquisition brings to Netskope WootCloud’s award-winning HyperContext® Security Platform, which provides end-to-end visibility, context, and threat remediation for managed and unmanaged devices, and will extend Netskope’s acclaimed SSE and Zero Trust capabilities to protect enterprise IoT devices at scale.
The massive volume of Internet-connected devices continues to expand; by 2025, there will be 55.7 billion connected IoT devices (“things”), generating almost 80B zettabytes (ZB) of data[1]. WootCloud technology will enable Netskope customers to support both user- and device-centric policies with Zero Trust principles applied to govern access and interactions with critical data. As Gartner® notes, by 2026, 50% of organizations will prioritize advanced data security features for inspection of data at rest and in motion as a selection criterion for SSE, up from 15% in 2021[2].
Founded in 2016 in San Jose, Calif., WootCloud offers device discovery, classification, and control to help customers gain deep visibility and context into all devices on their networks (both managed and unmanaged) and provide a risk and threat assessment measurement for devices that can be leveraged within a broader IoT security strategy. WootCloud’s cloud-based platform is capable of collecting billions of daily measurements of device characteristics, and this telemetry data is further analyzed using proprietary AI/ML models for device classification, risk assessment, and threat detection.
WootCloud critical uses cases include:
- Device classification and visibility to discover managed and unmanaged devices, classify and provide contextual information, and provide deep insights that “true-up” an asset inventory.
- Device Risk, dynamically ascertained bycontinuous real-time monitoring to detect malicious behavior, and exchange device attributes with security operations tools for remedial actions.
- Access control and segmentation to offer dynamic asset grouping, automate network segmentation, and facilitate various actions using existing Network Access Control (NAC), firewalls, access points, and other technologies.
- Cybersecurity asset management to drive compliance with corporate policies and gain insights into license use, helping to optimize the total IT environment.
“Securing a hybrid work environment includes the ability to establish adaptive zero trust across users, devices, networks, applications, and data— increasing confidence in policy enforcement everywhere,” said Sanjay Beri, CEO and co-founder of Netskope. “WootCloud’s innovative technology will further extend Netskope’s industry-leading SSE and Zero Trust capabilities, ensuring that critical data is protected from the network, to the cloud, to enterprise IoT devices.”
“Netskope is an unquestioned leader in Security Service Edge and Zero Trust, and it makes perfect sense to combine and extend our collective capabilities to protect enterprise IoT devices at scale,” said Amit Srivastav, CEO of WootCloud. “We are so proud of what we have achieved with WootCloud, and we are excited to join Netskope for this next stage of the growth journey.”
“WootCloud has been a fantastic partner to Dartmouth, designing and executing solutions to meet Dartmouth’s enterprise security needs,” said Mitchel Davis, Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Dartmouth College. “WootCloud’s decision to join Netskope will help the combined company continue to grow in a way that will prioritize scale while preserving the innovation that made WootCloud special. Netskope is a well-recognized security leader, and we are excited to continue this partnership.”
Zero Trust principles are critical to the implementation of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), which converges critical security, networking, and business value requirements into one technology architecture. Gartner cites that, by 2025, at least 60% of enterprises will have explicit strategies and timelines for SASE adoption encompassing user, branch and edge access, up from 10% in 2020[3]. Properly implemented SSE, which describes the security stack needed to enable SASE architecture, fundamentally includes zero trust and transforms what enterprises can achieve for security at scale.
Financial terms of the acquisition are undisclosed. WootCloud CEO Amit Srivastav has joined Netskope as an Executive Advisor to the CEO, and all of the WootCloud engineering team, led by the original founding CEO Srinivas Akella, have joined Netskope’s engineering organization.
Visit Netskope.com for more on Netskope capabilities for SSE, IoT security and Zero Trust.
[1] IDC, “Future of Industry Ecosystems: Shared Data and Insights,” January 2021.
[2] Gartner, “Critical Capabilities for Security Service Edge, John Watts, Craig Lawson, Charlie Winckless, Aaron McQuaid, 16 February 2022.
[3] Gartner 2021 Strategic Roadmap for SASE Convergence, Neil MacDonald, Nat Smith, Lawrence Orans, Joe Skorupa, March 25, 2021.