CensorNet has acquired SMS Passcode, a European based multi-factor authentication vendor, and will integrate the unique multi-factor authentication technology into its Unified Security Solution.
The funding for the acquisition was led by Talis Capital alongside existing investors. Hill Dickinson LLP advised investors on the transaction.
This acquisition follows the Series A round completed in September 2015, also led by Talis Capital, and is an important transition for the company. This allows CensorNet to claim a truly global footprint, protecting over one million users across 4,000 customers in 40 countries throughout EMEA and the US.
CensorNet’s management team is led by Ed Macnair, a serial security technology entrepreneur and IT expert with a proven track record of successfully developing technology companies, such as SaaSID, a single-sign on and application security vendor, which was acquired by Intermedia in 2013. Ed has been instrumental in evolving CensorNet since acquiring it in late 2014, in particular into the US market, and has steered the company to reach this crucial point for the next stage of growth.
Vasile Foca, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Talis Capital, says: “CensorNet have been particularly astute to the current market and have developed their products to address the clear persistent threat to the underserved 17+ million, 11 – 10,000 employee SME’s worldwide. SMS Passcode provides excellent geographical, technological and commercial synergies with CensorNet, thus allowing the business to deliver the critical front-end authentication required to present a complete cloud-based Unified Security Service to both Enterprises and SMEs.”
Matus Maar, Co-Founder and Partner of Talis Capital, says: “With the cyber security market set to reach USD170 billion by 2020, the key growth area to accommodate the changing landscape of cyber attacks is cloud-based security. It is particularly alarming that the majority of network breaches still involve elementary methods such as weak or stolen passwords, and with solutions predominantly focussed towards Enterprises, SMEs are left particularly exposed. Thus CensorNet’s solution will become increasingly crucial in this landscape.”
“Talis Capital have truly understood and supported our vision to become the first completely cloud-based, multi-tier, multi-tenant, end-to-end security service. The value proposition served by the combined offering of CensorNet and SMS Passcode is extremely significant to the millions of SMEs worldwide, and we are proud to be working with Talis Capital on our journey to deliver THE unified cloud security solution,” says CEO Ed Macnair.
