Symantec to buy Israeli cybersecurity firm Fireglass

Cybersecurity firm Symantec announced Thursday that it plans to buy Israel-based Fireglass. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Fireglass' claim to fame is its browser isolation technology that helps businesses combat ransomware, malware and phishing threats by reducing the attack surface. The system works in real-time and claims to protect employees regardless of the links they click or the websites they visit, as all potentially harmful website and email content and attachments are quarantined and secured before being executed.

Symantec plans to use Fireglass to bolster its Cyber Defense platform, while making isolation the core component of its cyber defense architecture.

"Integrating Fireglass' isolation technology with Symantec's existing endpoint, email and secure web gateway solutions could reduce security events by as much as 70 percent, while virtually eliminating advanced threats spread by web browsing or email content," said Symantec CEO Greg Clark.

Like most enterprise tech vendors these days, Symantec has frequently turned to acquisitions to bolster its cybersecurity portfolio.

Back in November, Symantec bought consumer identity-theft protection service LifeLock for $2.3 billion, promising to form the "world's largest digital safety platform for consumers and families." Earlier in the year, it acquired Blue Coat from Bain Capital in a $4.65 billion deal.

Symantec said that it expects the Fireglass deal to close in Q3 2017.