Cisco announced today that it is acquiring OpenDNS for $635 million in cash. The security-as-a-service company will join Sourcefire and others to round out the Cisco Security portfolio.
“As more people, processes, data and things become connected, opportunities for security breaches and malicious threats grow exponentially when away from secure enterprise networks,” said Hilton Romanski, Cisco chief technology and strategy officer. “OpenDNS has a strong team with deep security expertise and key technology that complements Cisco’s security vision. Together, we will help customers protect their extended network wherever the user is and regardless of the device.”
As the name implies, the Domain Name System (DNS) is at the heart of how OpenDNS works to protect customers. DNS is crucial to the Internet and Web because it takes a plain-language name like “Forbes” and converts it into its IP address equivalent so that the routers and switches of the world know which server(s) to send your traffic to.
Internet providers have DNS servers that resolve IP addresses and direct traffic for customers, but OpenDNS customers use OpenDNS DNS servers instead. By funneling all customer traffic through its own DNS servers OpenDNS has a comprehensive view of exploits and malware threats and it can conduct Web filtering to help customers avoid those threats in real-time.
OpenDNS is based in San Francisco and has data centers around the world. The company has more than 65 million customers across 160 different countries around the world, and claims to manage about 70 billion DNS requests per day. That’s 70 billion chances to analyze and detect attacks and 70 billion chances to predict security issues and help customers avoid them.
The OpenDNS website has an FAQ related to the acquisition that addresses questions OpenDNS customers might be concerned about like why Cisco is buying the company in the first place. The FAQ answers:
OpenDNS has built a global network that delivers advanced security solutions ‘as a service’ regardless of where offices or employees are located and in a way that is simple to deploy and easy to manage. As the world continues to adapt to a changing IT landscape brought about by the rapid adoption of mobile devices, cloud services, and an increasingly nomadic workforce, security needs to be everywhere, not just in the office. OpenDNS helps make that possible. Cisco is also excited about introducing the innovative advancements to threat research and threat-centric security that OpenDNS has developed to block the world’s most advanced cyber threats.
The FAQ also stresses that nothing will change and that existing OpenDNS licenses and service level agreements remain in force—including the free services OpenDNS provides. “We’re all on the same page here, committed to making sure that what makes OpenDNS so great stays intact, and that includes the team.”
The acquisition is expected to officially close at the beginning of 2016. According to Cisco the OpenDNS team will join the Cisco Security Business Group organization led by David Goeckeler, senior vice president and general manager.
It will be interesting to see how—or if—Cisco can successfully merge the various Cisco Security portfolio entities into a cohesive security solution. Cisco, Sourcefire, and OpenDNS are all respected names in their own right, but the real value of a comprehensive security portfolio is the ability to offer customers an integrated solution that works seamlessly together.