Orange Business Services acquires Atheos to strengthen its position as a leading global “cyberdefense” player

Orange Business Services today announced the acquisition of Atheos, becoming the largest European cyberdefense company and strengthening its position as a leading global player in advanced security services.

Founded in 2002, Atheos is a pioneer of IT identity and security management on the French market. With 130 experts in cybersecurity, Atheos works with large French businesses to define, implement, and control their security strategies.

Orange Business Services, a global leader in corporate security services, has developed a comprehensive security strategy through managed and integrated security solutions in 220 countries and territories – protecting both infrastructure and users. Orange’s eight Security Operations Centers (SOC) around the world monitor these solutions 24/7. Through this acquisition, Orange Business Services will significantly strengthen its offering by addressing two key requirements in today’s corporate environment:

• the provision of stronger access control and data-loss prevention policies; and
• proactive cyberdefense through: the advanced identification of security breaches and vulnerabilities, the detection and analysis of “low-noise” attack signals, and on-site crisis management.

The unique expertise of Atheos will combine with the existing competencies of Orange Business Services in security under a new common banner: Orange Cyberdefense.

“We have consistently recorded strong growth since our incorporation in 2002. By joining Orange Business Services, we will benefit from its unique expertise of critical infrastructure to take us to the next level. Orange Cyberdefense offers a credible response to the security requirements of large companies and government agencies,” said Michel Van Den Berghe, General Manager and founder of Atheos.

“We are very excited to welcome the teams from Atheos; their high level of expertise and proven methods clearly add value to our services portfolio. Security is a critical concern for our customers, which means that the provision of robust security services has now become a strategic priority for Orange Business Services. With this acquisition, we are now the only European provider able to support companies implementing multidimensional protection strategies, and this significantly reinforces our commitment to customers to support them, as a trusted partner, in an increasingly digital world,” added Thierry Bonhomme, Senior Executive Vice President, Orange Business Services.