Deal Expands the Sophos Portfolio of Detection and Response Solutions and Services for Underprotected Server and Cloud Environments

OXFORD, U.K. — 七月 7, 2021 —

Sophos, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity, today announced that it has acquired Capsule8, a pioneer and market leader of runtime visibility, detection and response for Linux production servers and containers covering on-premise and cloud workloads. Founded in 2016, Capsule8 is privately held and headquartered in New York, NY.

“Sophos already protects more than two million servers for over 85,000 customers worldwide, and the Sophos server security business is growing at more than 20% per year,” said Dan Schiappa, chief product officer, Sophos. “Comprehensive server protection is a crucial component of any effective cybersecurity strategy that organizations of all sizes are increasingly focused on, especially as more workloads move to the cloud. With Capsule8, Sophos is delivering advanced, differentiated solutions to protect server environments, and expanding its position as a leading global cybersecurity provider.”

Capsule8 is dedicated solely to the development of Linux security and has established itself as a technology and thought leader in the market, with marquis customer wins and billings growth of 77% in the year to March 31, 2021. Driven by the dramatic growth in cloud platforms, Linux has become the dominant operating system for server workloads. Capsule8’s high-performance, low-impact design is ideal for Linux servers, especially those used for high-scale workloads, production infrastructure and storing critical business data.

"The main idea behind Capsule8 is that providing enterprise-grade security for Linux systems requires deploying components that are designed specifically for that environment. These components are more adept at making the trade-offs between security and performance when needed, to achieve the desired levels of resilience and protection,” said Fernando Montenegro, principal research analyst with 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, in reference to Capsule8’s solutions.1 "As organizations move to embrace concepts such as cloud-based delivery and DevOps, the underlying compute environments shift noticeably toward Linux as a frequent execution environment. For security teams, often more familiar with Windows-centric concepts, this represents a potential challenge – there are different demands, concepts and practices for Linux. This is the space that Capsule8 aims to address with its endpoint security offering, combining an architecture optimized for Linux with more features aimed at enterprise security and IT operations teams."

Sophos is integrating Capsule8 technology into its recently launched Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem (ACE), providing powerful and lightweight Linux server and cloud container security within this open platform. Sophos will also feature Capsule8 technology in its Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions, Intercept X server protection products, and Sophos Managed Threat Response (MTR) and Rapid Response services. This will further expand and enhance Sophos’ data lake and deliver continuous, fresh intelligence for advanced threat hunting, security operations and customer protection practices.

“Capsule8 is the premiere purpose-built detection and response platform for Linux. We provide security teams with the crucial visibility they need to protect Linux production infrastructure against unwanted behavior, while at the same time addressing cost, performance and reliability concerns,” said John Viega, CEO, Capsule8. “We’ve innovated new approaches to deliver runtime security in a much safer and more cost-effective way than anyone else in the industry. With Capsule8’s technology, organizations are no longer forced to choose between system stability and security risk. Given the growth and mission-critical nature of Linux environments, and the fast-changing, targeted threat landscape, organizations must be confident that their Linux environments are both performant and secure.”

SophosLabs threat intelligence reveals that adversaries are designing tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) aimed specifically at Linux systems, often exploiting server software as an initial entry point. After gaining a foothold, attackers commonly deploy scripts to perform further automated actions. These could include:

  • Dropping Secure Shell protocol (SSH) keys to gain direct access
  • Attempting to remove existing security services
  • Disabling Mandatory Access Control (MAC) frameworks, such as AppArmor and SELinux
  • Adjusting or disabling server firewall rules (iptables)
  • Installing post-exploit malware and configuration files
  • Moving laterally via existing infrastructure with living off the land tools, such as SSH, Chef, Ansible, Salt, and Puppet

Adversaries use compromised Linux servers as cryptomining botnets or as a high-end infrastructure for launching attacks on other platforms, such as hosting malicious websites or sending malicious emails. Given that Linux servers often hold valuable data, attackers also target them for data theft and ransomware.

“Attackers today are incredibly aggressive and nimble as they adapt their TTPs to focus on the easiest, largest or fastest-growing opportunities. As more organizations shift to Linux servers, adversaries have noticed, and they are adapting and customizing their approaches to attack these systems. To stay protected, organizations must factor in a strong, but lightweight layer of Linux security that automatically integrates and shares intelligence with endpoint, network and other security layers and platforms within an estate,” said Schiappa. “We will provide this industry-leading capability and strategically important visibility and detection by combining Capsule8 with our Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem products and services, greatly enhancing the ability to find and eliminate suspicious activity before it becomes malicious.”

Sophos expects to begin early access programs with its products and services leveraging the Capsule8 technology later this fiscal year.

1 Coverage Initiation: As cloud workloads rise, Capsule8 aims for Linux-tailored security, 451 Research Impact Report, May 29, 2020

关于 Sophos

Sophos 是全球领先的先进安全解决方案提供商和创新者,全面安全解决方案涵盖托管式侦测与响应 (MDR) 和事件响应服务,以及广泛的端点、网络、电子邮件和云安全技术。作为最大的纯网络安全厂商之一,Sophos 为全球超过 600,000 家企业和超过 1 亿用户提供防御主动攻击对手、勒索软件、网络钓鱼、恶意软件等威胁的保护。Sophos 的服务和产品通过 Sophos Central 管理控制台连接,并得到公司内部的跨领域威胁情报部门 Sophos X-Ops 的支持。Sophos X-Ops 情报优化整个 Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem 自适应网络安全生态体系,包括一个中央数据湖,为客户、合作伙伴、开发人员和其他网络安全与信息技术供应商提供一组丰富的开放 API。Sophos为需要完全托管的安全解决方案的组织提供网络安全即服务。客户还可以直接利用 Sophos 的安全运行平台管理其网络安全,或者采用混合方法,为内部团队补充 Sophos 服务(包括威胁追踪与修复)。Sophos 通过世界各地的经销商合作伙伴和托管服务供应商 (MSP) 销售。Sophos 总部位于英国牛津。如欲了解更多信息,请访问 www.sophos.com