McAfee, the device-to-cloud cybersecurity company, yesterday announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Light Point Security, a pioneer of browser isolation.
Alongside the announcement of the acquisition, McAfee communicated its plans to integrate Light Point Security's browser isolation technology into its Secure Web Gateway.
The move will supplement McAfee's existing inbound and outbound protection for all web and cloud traffic.
As internet use increases and more businesses migrate to the cloud, one of the most vulnerable attack surfaces in an organisation is the browser.
Recognising the harm that can be done with an unprotected browser, Light Point Security isolates the browser in a remote virtual environment outside of the corporate network.
Light Point Security says this solution protects users from zero-day malware, as well as ransomware and credential phishing attacks.
According to the company, when full isolation is implemented, no web content ever gets to the user's computer. All browsing is done in an isolated environment so no browser-based malware can infect the system.
Recognition of the necessity of browser security has also come from other key players in the industry, with Gartner having identified remote browser isolation as a recommended capability of SASE components.
According to Gartner, "remote browsing is becoming a recognised method to keep the browsing away from the endpoint and to enforce policies on the interactions." Gartner recommends organisations consider remote processing in any risk-averse environment.
Light Point Security utilises proprietary technology to deliver complete isolation, preventing elements of a page from reaching or being able to attack a client browser.
McAfee says that its acquisition of Light Point Security means enterprises will be able to remove user exposure to malware while maintaining responsive access to legitimate websites and cloud applications.
Additionally, McAfee plans to integrate browser isolation into the newly released MVISION UCE solution, which includes McAfee Secure Web Gateway, McAfee Data Loss Prevention and MVISION Cloud (CASB).
McAfee claims this will allow customers to apply a threat protection policy across their network and Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, such as Office365.
"Web browsing is one of the most common threat vectors for endpoints to get infected," says McAfee chief product officer of enterprise business group, Ash Kulkarni.
"Adding Light Point Security's capabilities into our products will create solutions that enable our customers to mitigate web-based threats without impacting user experience.
"The browser isolation capabilities will bolster the McAfee Unified Cloud Edge offering to make it a preferred solution for security-focused businesses without compromising on productivity," says Kulkarni.
"Light Point Security's technology enables users to browse any website safely, securely and without limitations, without having to keep up with website changes," says Light Point Security co-founder and chief executive officer Zuly Gonzalez.
"This stops attacks launched against a web browser before they can even enter the network without hampering user experience.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
