Walking tall in electronic security

As the renowned Black Hat “digital self-defense” conference kicked off last week in Las Vegas, Perimeter eSecurity cashed a $50 million check from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., among this year”™s largest computer-security investments.

The Milford company, founded as Cybergnostic and until recently known as Perimeter Internetworking Corp., runs network- and computer-security services for 4,000 corporate customers, nearly half of them financial institutions. In industry jargon, such companies are termed managed-security-services providers (MSSPs).

Perimeter eSecurity”™s some 50 security offerings include:

 

Ӣ network intrusion defenses such as firewalls;

Ӣ e-mail filters for viruses, spam and content, and encryption systems;

Ӣ vulnerability assessments of networks and Web sites;

Ӣ ongoing system maintenance, such as patches and compliance monitoring; and

Ӣ secure links via virtual private networks.

 

“The problem that exists today is not the availability of top-notch technologies,” said Brad Miller, CEO of Perimeter eSecurity. “The problem is far and away the fact that (effective security systems) are too expensive for any but the ”¦ largest companies to adopt.”

Part of the Goldman Sachs investment will be used to cash out previous investors, according to Miller; much of the remainder will be earmarked for acquisitions. He added the company is currently negotiating a large acquisition, which he did not specify. In January, Perimeter eSecurity acquired Message Secure, a Lowell, Mass., company that also focuses on the financial sector.

MSSPs have fast been getting snapped up by established software and telecommunications giants. In early July, Verizon Communications Inc. acquired Virginia-based Cybertrust; last October, British Telecom bought out Counterpane Internet Security Inc.

With 225 employees today, 60 in Connecticut, Perimeter eSecurity is among the few still-independent companies founded in the first wave of MSSPs in the late 1990”™s, including Atlanta-based SecureWorks Inc. and Solutionary Inc. of Omaha, Neb.

The market for managed security services could more than double to $12 billion between 2006 and 2010, according to Jeff Wilson, an analyst with Infonetics Research of Campbell, Calif. Last year, half of MSSP revenue came from managed firewall services, and another quarter of sales from content security.

Perimeter eSecurity had $23.5 million in revenue in 2005, according to data it supplied Deloitte & Touche L.L.P. for publication with the Deloitte & Touche Fast 500 list of fastest-growing companies last year.

Miller has led Perimeter eSecurity since 2000 as CEO; previously he led operations at Production Resource Group L.L.C., a New Windsor, N.Y., company that builds stage scenery and lighting systems.

Miller has set the scene for Perimeter eSecurity”™s fast growth via acquisitions ”“ nine in the past three years. Kevin Prince, Perimeter eSecurity”™s chief security officer, joined via the company”™s 2006 acquisition of Red Cliff Solutions, which focused on security systems for credit unions.

At last week”™s Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, computer security companies and organizations trotted out their visionaries, from former White House cyber-terrorism guru Richard Clarke to experts in the nuts and bolts of hacking.

The conference was not without controversy: A German expert in reverse engineering was denied entry into the United States after U.S. Customs officials found his presentation materials for a scheduled talk at the Black Hat conference, then put him on a flight back to Germany after balking at his entry application.