Sophos acquires Refactr to optimise managed threat response

Sophos, a next-generation cybersecurity vendor, has announced that it has acquired Refactr, which develops and markets a versatile DevSecOps automation platform that bridges the gap between DevOps and cybersecurity.

Based in Bellevue, Washington, Refactr launched in 2017 and is privately held.

As DevOps and security teams continue to adopt “IT-as-Code” approaches to managing their environments, Refactr’s ability to automate any of these processes enables teams to scale.

Sophos is optimising Refactr’s DevSecOps automation platform to add Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) capabilities to its managed threat response (MTR) and extended detection and response (XDR) solutions.

“First-generation SOAR solutions have moved our industry forward in significant ways, but we’re now witnessing an evolution where more and more businesses are becoming software companies and our security solutions need to evolve in parallel. As we’ve seen in recent supply chain incidents, attackers are increasingly targeting software development pipelines and defenders need the ability to shift further left of attackers. The industry needs SOAR to mature into more capable and generalisable DevSecOps solutions, and Sophos’ acquisition of Refactr will help us lead the way,” said Joe Levy, Chief Technology Officer, Sophos. “With Refactr, Sophos will fast track the integration of such advanced SOAR capabilities into our Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem, the basis for our XDR product and MTR service. We will provide a full spectrum of automated playbooks for our customers and partners, from drag-and-drop to fully programmable, along with broad integrations with third-party solutions through our technology alliances program to work with today’s diverse IT environments.”

Sophos will continue to develop and offer Refactr’s platform to the existing and growing base of partners and organisations that want to build customised IT and security automations for themselves and for their customers.

Michael Fraser, CEO and co-founder, Refactr, said: “We created the Refactr platform so that every organisation can deliver effective DevSecOps through holistic security-first automation. Our platform was purpose-built to be versatile, interoperable and easy to use. Cybersecurity teams can now collaborate with DevOps to easily build complicated IT automation and security integrations through DevSecOps pipelines.”

Fraser added that: “Our mission is to enable DevSecOps to become the modern approach to automation, where cybersecurity use cases like SOAR, XDR, compliance, cloud security and Identity and Access Management (IAM) become building blocks for DevSecOps solutions. We are already seeing success in providing organisations our emerging technology, including the Centre for Internet Security and the US Air Force. We are proud of what we accomplished at Refactr, and excited for the next part of our journey with Sophos to help create a more secure world through DevSecOps.”