RSA to Acquire Behavior Analytics Startup Fortscale

Update, April 7: Cybersecurity firm RSA, a subsidiary of Dell Technologies Inc., confirmed its intention to acquire Israel-based Fortscale Security in a Friday announcement.

Earlier that day Calcalist reported the deal citing a person familiar with the matter.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed and are subject to customary closing conditions, RSA said in the announcement.

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Some of Fortscale 30 employees will be transferred to RSA’s research and development center in Israel, the person said. Fortscale’s founder and chief executive, Idan Tendler, will not remain with the company.

The deal is valued at less than what the startup has raised in equity funding, that person said.

Founded in 2012, Fortscale has raised $23 million from a wide variety of venture capital firms. The startup embeds software into cybersecurity systems that can detect when employees leak sensitive information or when malware is used to impersonate employee identities in cyber attacks.

RSA said it intends to offer Fortscale's product to its customers through its network visibility offering called NetWitness.

"Adding more security monitoring and prevention tools is a common response to the growing digital risk environment, but too often, the influx of data creates unattended alerts, overwhelming analysts," said Michael Adler, vice president of engineering at RSA NetWitness unit.

According to the person familiar with the matter who was interviewed by Calcalist last week, some of Fortscale 30 employees will be transferred to RSA’s research and development center in Israel. Fortscale’s founder and chief executive, Idan Tendler, will not remain with the company.

Founded in 2012, Fortscale develops and markets a software that can detect when employees leak sensitive information or when malware is used to impersonate employee identities in cyber attacks.

The company has raised $23 million to date.

RSA’s last acquisition in Israel happened in 2005 when it bought software company Kaltura for $145 million.

Founded in 1982 by cryptographers from the U.S. and Israel, RSA was acquired by EMC for $2.1 billion in 2006. In 2016, EMC and Dell merged to form Dell Technologies.