Security Matters

Security Matters, known as SecurityMatters prior to its acquisition, was a Dutch cybersecurity firm established in 2009 by founders Damiano Bolzoni, Emmanuele Zambon, and Sandro Etalle. The company carved a niche in the operational technology (OT) security sector, concentrating on safeguarding industrial environments and critical infrastructure. Its client base spanned sectors such as oil and gas, manufacturing, electrical energy, and pharmaceuticals.

The core of SecurityMatters' business was providing network intrusion detection products and services. The firm developed a platform that specialized in monitoring, analyzing, and protecting industrial control systems (ICS). This was achieved through passive network monitoring and protocol analysis, which offered deep visibility into OT networks without disrupting operations. The technology was designed to identify all connected devices, detect cyber threats and operational flaws, and translate this complex data into actionable intelligence for security teams. This allowed clients to have a comprehensive view of their risk profile and compliance status across their entire OT environment.

A significant milestone for the company occurred in November 2018 when it was acquired by Forescout Technologies, a San Jose-based IoT security vendor, for approximately $113 million in cash. At the time of the acquisition, SecurityMatters had about 80 employees and had raised $5 million in outside funding. The two companies had already been in a partnership for about a year, which facilitated a smoother integration of their technologies. The acquisition was a strategic move for Forescout to bolster its position in the OT security market, merging its own device visibility and control capabilities with SecurityMatters' specialized expertise to offer an end-to-end, agentless security platform for both IT and OT networks. Following the acquisition, the SecurityMatters brand and operations were integrated into Forescout.

Keywords: SecurityMatters, Forescout, operational technology security, OT security, industrial control systems, ICS security, network visibility, threat detection, cybersecurity, industrial cybersecurity, device visibility, agentless security, network monitoring, intrusion detection, Damiano Bolzoni, Emmanuele Zambon, Sandro Etalle, critical infrastructure protection, IT/OT convergence, industrial network protection