ZeroFox made its second threat intelligence acquisition in a year

Baltimore-based cybersecurity firm ZeroFox said Tuesday that it acquired Vigilante, a company specializing in dark web threat intelligence.

As part of the deal, Vigilante’s team will join ZeroFox, integrating its capabilities into the company’s platform for detecting threats on social media and on digital channels.

The “dark web” is a popularized term used to describe a portion of the internet that is not accessible through the usual search engines, and typically requires specific software to access. Encryption is used to keep activity private, which has made illicit activities one of its uses. When it comes to cyber threats, this includes selling stolen data and even the hacking tools to obtain it.

“The dark web and criminal underground are critical requirements of modern threat intelligence programs and the agitators are moving quickly,” ZeroFox CEO James C. Foster said in a statement. “Attacks and breaches are occurring at an all-time high, and organizations need a clear view of the underground economy, how bots may be attacking them or if their credentials, credit cards, personally identifiable information… and other information could be traded there, as well as understanding emerging tactics, exploits and vulnerabilities to stay ahead. This new capability increases the scale and comprehensiveness of our dark web intelligence capabilities to our customers, protecting their organization, people, customers and information. “

A combined product offering from Vigilante and ZeroFox will combine human intelligence and tools offered by Vigilante, and AI processing that powers ZeroFox’s technology. This will allow for access to unique datasets, the companies said.

“The combination of our otherwise inaccessible datasets, our team of researchers and operatives, along with ZeroFox’s scale and artificial intelligence, now powers the industry’s only truly complete dark web intelligence service,” said Mike Kirschner, cofounder of Vigilante, in a statement.

Vigilante was founded in 2015, and is based in Phoenix, Arizona. The company said it has team members globally, and that it works with “a broad range of companies across a diverse array of industries, including many of the Fortune 50.”

It’s the second acquisition for ZeroFox in a year that’s focused around threat intelligence. The Federal Hill-based company previously acquired Cyveillance from Reston, Virginia-based Lookingglass Cyber Solutions, bringing the company’s team to more than 400 people.

Starting out of Betamore in 2013, ZeroFox is now a growth company bringing others into its fold.  It has attracted plenty of investment from venture firms along the way. Most recently, in February 2020, the company raised $74 million in a funding round led by Intel Capital.