U.K.-based network and endpoint security outfit Sophos Group plc is moving into the advanced threat prevention realm with the $31.8 million all-cash acquisition of SurfRight, the Dutch-based maker of the popular “HitManPro” malware scanning and removal tools.

Sophos says the plan is to integrate SurfRight’s signature-less endpoint threat detection and response technology into its own line of security products and services. It says the two technologies are a perfect fit for its synchronized security strategy.

“This acquisition will further strengthen [our] leading endpoint protection technology, by adding complementary new defense tactics, delivered either on premises or in the cloud,” the firm said in a somewhat brief statement on the acquisition.

For those unfamiliar with SurfRight, the company has built a number of security technologies aimed at detecting, preventing and remediating sophisticated attacks and zero-day vulnerabilities. It’s technologies focus on detecting and preventing the kinds of memory manipulations and abuses that commonly take place when malicious code is running in the background.

What Sophos is aiming to do with its synchronized security strategy is to offer the whole caboodle of integrated security components, including network and endpoint solutions, so they can actively and continuously communicate with each other to help with mitigating threats.

Sophos claims this kind of approach leads to faster detection of threats and allows security teams to investigate and address any issues that do crop up more quickly. The firm added that it has 15,000 channel partners ready and waiting to push its soon-to-be integrated offering.

Sophos’ security products already offer useful features including malicious traffic detection that monitors outbound connections to known bad URLs, behavioral analytics, and application reputation. As well as integrating SurfRight’s technologies into its own products, Sophos says it will continue to develop and support the existing HitmanPro anti-malware software, which is used by more than 20 million people worldwide.

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