HP Scoops Up Endpoint Security Partner Bromium

Start-up’s technology used in HP’s Sure Click solution

After a couple of years licensing Bromium’s endpoint security technology, HP Inc. has decided to take the technology in-house by acquiring the start-up.

The Lowdown:  The deal will enable the giant PC maker to expand the reach of Bromium’s technology in the security product lineup for its commercial systems.

The Details:  Bromium’s technology – based on what the company calls micro-virtualization – is foundational to HP’s Sure Click solution, which can be found in such systems as its Elite commercial notebooks. Sure Click, which HP introduced as a feature in 2017, is designed to protect PCs from ransomware and other Web-based malware threats by essentially isolating Websites accessed by the user. When a user goes to a site, Sure Click makes the site unable to infect other tabs or the system itself by making it a hardware-based isolated session.

Isolation is the key behind Bromium’s product. Its Secure Platform offering leverages virtualization to isolate every task a user performs – opening a Web page, downloading a file, or clicking on an e-mail link – which also isolates any malware found on those pages or in those files or messages. Bromium creates a micro-VM every time a task is performed and terminates the micro-VM when the task ends, which also destroys any potential threats.

Sure Click also provides real-time threat intelligence. HP officials said the plan is to expand the use of Bromium’s technology in the PC maker’s endpoint-security offerings, adding that it will complement such HP solutions as Sure Sense (anti-malware technology enhanced by artificial intelligence and introduced in April), Sure View (keeps the contents of a user’s screen out of view of other people), and Sure Start (hardware-based BIOS protection).

HP did not disclose financial details of the deal.

The Impact:  User behavior – clicking on e-mail attachments containing malicious code or on URLs for malicious sites – continues to be the top cause of malware events, helping to fuel a fast-growing endpoint security market that’s dealing with a proliferation of mobile devices and an ongoing rise in security breaches. The global market will grow almost 10% a year, from $11.18 billion last year to $19.69 billion by 2024, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence.

Background:  Bromium was founded in 2010 by a group of ex-Citrix executives and has raised more than $75 million in three rounds of venture funding. The acquisition is the first since HP announced plans to transition in November from Dion Weisler as CEO to Enrique Lores, a 30-year veteran of HP who now runs the company’s imaging and printing business.

The Buzz:  “Security is a key competitive differentiator for HP, providing the most secure PCs and printers on the market,” said Andy Rhodes, general manager and global head of commercial systems at HP. “The acquisition of Bromium extends our investments, leadership, and focus in this space and secures endpoint devices that are on the front lines of defense against cybersecurity attacks.”

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