Rapid7 buys Mobilisafe, expands security suite to BYOD

Rapid7, the company behind popular information security testing tools Metasploit and Nexpose, has acquired mobile risk management firm Mobilisafe, with plans to enter the bring your own device (BYOD) market.

The value of the acquisition has not been disclosed, but Rapid7 had previously announced that it would use a recent US$50 million funding windfall to expand via acquisitions and its own internal development.

Mobilisafe is aimed at identifying users and devices that are brought into an organisation, scanning them for vulnerabilities in order to build a clearer risk profile of each device, and then taking any necessary actions in accordance with the organisation's policies.

"The trend of BYOD highlights one of the greatest challenges organisations face in security, which is identifying all the devices being used to access corporate data, and understanding the associated threats so they can be mitigated," said Rapid7 CEO Mike Tuchen.

"With the acquisition of Mobilisafe, Rapid7 addresses this challenge," he said. "This [acquisition] builds on our existing expertise in managing IT risk across on-premise, cloud, and virtual assets."

"Rapid7 is already helping organisations address security risks with a simple approach that enables defenders to identify relevant threats, and prioritise remediation and mitigation efforts. This approach is totally in-line with our own view," said CEO and co-founder of Mobilisafe Giri Sreenivas.