Sophos acquires UK-based Soc.Os to advance MTR, XDR capabilities

Sophos, a cybersecurity firm, has acquired Soc.Os, a cloud-based security alert investigation and triage automation solution innovator to expand its managed threat response (MTR) and extended detection and response (XDR) solutions for businesses of all sizes.

The solution combines and prioritises large amounts of security warnings from numerous products and platforms throughout an organisation’s estate, allowing security operations teams to swiftly comprehend and respond to critical situations flagged.

Sophos will also use Soc.Os to help them grow its adaptive cybersecurity ecosystem, which supports all of their security offerings. Third-party endpoint, server, firewall, identity and access management (IAM), cloud workload, email, and mobile security solutions will be used to provide warnings and events.

Today we're excited to share that @Sophos has acquired SOC.OS, an innovator of a cloud-based security alert investigation and triage automation solution.

1/9 pic.twitter.com/zcHRBjmzaI

— SOC.OS (@SOCOS_Cyber) April 22, 2022

“Sophos MTR is one of the fastest-growing new offerings in the company’s history. We now stand as one of the largest managed detection and response (MDR) operations in the world, delivering superior security outcomes through an MTR service with more than 8,000 customers. The top enhancement request from these customers is ‘better integrations with existing security environments,’ and with the innovative technology from Soc.Os, we will be able to do just that – seamlessly integrate Sophos’ MTR and XDR solutions within their current set of security and IT solutions,” said Joe Levy, chief technology and product officer, Sophos.

With cyberattacks, such as ransomware, becoming increasingly prevalent and complex, security operations teams are under constant pressure to monitor every aspect of their organisation. Between 24/7 threat activity, high volumes of security alerts and false positives, and understaffing, organisations need XDR or MTR, plus a solution from Soc.Os that automatically clusters and triages alerts.

“Alert fatigue and lack of visibility still plague security teams worldwide. Considering this, against the backdrop of constantly changing cyberthreats and a challenging talent landscape, defenders need new and innovative products and services that can help them solve more complex incidents in less time,” said Dave Mareels, chief executive officer and co-founder, Soc.Os.

“For many defenders, however, the complexity and cost of traditional security solutions act as barriers to adoption. By joining forces with Sophos, we can address these challenges together, head on. The sum is greater than our parts, and by combining our capabilities, we’re positioned to offer truly unique, cost effective and highly accessible products and services to those who need it most, on a global scale.”

Soc.Os is a spinoff of BAE Systems Digital Intelligence that launched in 2020. The firm is privately owned and headquartered in Milton Keynes, UK.

Meanwhile last year, Sophos acquired Braintrace to further enhance its adaptive cybersecurity ecosystem with Braintrace’s network detection and response (NDR) technology. Without the requirement for man-in-the-middle (MitM) decryption, Braintrace’s NDR enables comprehensive visibility into network traffic patterns, including encrypted communication.

Read: Sophos acquires Braintrace to strengthen its adaptive cybersecurity ecosystem

Braintrace, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, was founded in 2016 and is a privately held company.