ADT Expands Cybersecurity Business with Purchase of Datashield

Physical security firm ADT today announced its purchase of managed detection and response services company Datashield in a bid to expand its cybersecurity services business for large enterprises and mid-sized companies.

As part of the acquisition, ADT is launching the new ADT Cybersecurity group, which will house Datashield's real-time forensic MDR service as well as ADT's existing network, router and firewall security services business, says Michael Malone, Datashield CEO and ADT's senior vice president of ADT Cybersecurity.

ADT also anticipates adding more cybersecurity offerings to its new group in the coming year, says Malone.

"We can do 24/7 forensics and full-packet capture on the network," Malone says. The new MDR service takes an estimated 15 hours from the time of a compromise to discovery, he says, a process that has shrunk 24 hours and is substantially less than the industry's median time of 80 days.

"Our assumption is attackers are going to get in, but if they do we will stop the attack before it's a big breach," Malone says. "With our technology, we see the entire network, and with full-packet capture we can see what they are trying to take."

Merging into One

The two companies initially met to discuss a potential ADT investment into Datashield back in the May-June timeframe, but those talks soon transitioned into a buyout offer after ADT became interested in MDR technology, Malone recalls.

"Our goal is to provide ADT customers with the most comprehensive security solution to protect their business, and in today's world, this not only means their physical premise, but also their network," Timothy Whall, ADT CEO, said in a statement.

Gartner predicts that approximately 20% of mid-market and enterprise companies will use MDR services by 2020, up from 1% in 2016.

Malone predicts that Datashield competitors Dell SecureWorks, eSentire, and others may find themselves entertaining potential mergers, or some form of business relationship, with brick and mortar security companies in the future.

"Our deal may raise a lot of eyebrows and get people thinking," Malone explains.

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