Security as a service startup OPAQ Networks Inc. announced today that it has acquired security focused network micro-segmentation provider Drawbridge Networks Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

Founded in 2014, Drawbridge offers a service called PathProtect that allows organizations to learn, detect and automatically respond to internal attacks. The platform works on the assumption that attackers will be able to get onto a corporate network, so it facilitates micro-segmentation, fine-grained security policies that are assigned to specific users and workloads within a network, to automatically quarantine malicious activity before it is able to spread within the network.

OPAQ will be integrating Drawbridge’s micro-segmentation technology into its security as a service platform to augment its existing service offering by deploying software agents on network endpoints, such as laptops and servers.

“Combining automation capabilities with SDN [software-defined networking] virtualization technologies such as micro-segmentation can help mid-tier organizations realize the true business benefits of network security as a service,” Dan Cummins, senior security analyst at 451 Research, said in a statement. He noted that network security policy provisioning is among the most time-consuming challenges for companies.

“Software-defined networking, however, can enable easier provisioning and enforcement of security policies,” he said. “Quality SDN security is oriented around organization, data and application classification, privacy, user functions and compliance — business constructs rather than the hardwired constraints of underlying infrastructure.”

OPAQ itself is an interesting company, having launched only in January this year with funding of $27 million from Columbia Capital, Harmony Partners and Zero-G Inc. which was in part used to acquire an existing security startup, Bat Blue Inc. to create the core of its current security platform. In effect, OPAQ is a company that is building itself out from scratch using acquired technology, a corporate raider of sorts that is snapping up smaller security startups to create a larger, multi-faceted cloud security business.

Prior to acquisition, Drawbridge had raised a single seed round of $1.7 million from Antecedent Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, Bowery Capital, Grand Central Tech, Paladin Capital Group, Primary Venture Partners and QueensBridge Venture Partners. Drawbridge founders John Terrill and Tom Cross will be joining OPAQ as the company’s chief information security officer and chief technology officer, respectively.

Image: Drawbridge Networks