Rapid7 Inc. announced today it has acquired Velocidex Enterprises Pty. Ltd., the company behind Velociraptor, an open-source technology and community platform focused on cybersecurity monitoring tools, for an undisclosed price.

Founded in 2018, Velociraptor provides next-generation endpoint monitoring, digital forensic investigations and cybersecurity incident response. Focused on providing the “last step” in the process of digital forensic investigations, security monitoring and threat hunting, Velociraptor is aimed at empowering both experts and novices to leverage industry knowledge to collect and analyze evidence of malicious activities.

The company argues that making Velociraptor open-source enables it to evolve and improve through feedback and input from practitioners on the front line. Working natively on Windows, macOS and Linux, Velociraptor is distributed as a static binary with no libraries or dependencies, allowing users to deploy the code in minutes using a system center configuration manager or group policy.

Velociraptor is said to be unique in that it allows for custom detections, collections and analysis capabilities to be written in queries, rather than code. Those queries can then easily be shared, strengthening the knowledge of the community and allowing teams to hunt for new threats quicker.

The acquisition is also a rare one for an Australian startup; Velocidex Enterprises is based on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Founder Mike Cohen is a former staff software engineer at Google LLC who worked on advanced incident response and remote forensic tools. Under the deal, Cohen is joining Rapid7.

For Rapid7, the acquisition will allow it to enhance its incident response capabilities. The Velociraptor community will continue to be supported along with the code being offered on an open-source basis.

“We strongly believe that partnership with the open-source community is one of the most important ways to move the security industry forward and make the digital world a safer place for everyone, Richard Perkett, senior vice president of detection and response at Rapid7, said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing our expertise in growing and nurturing open-source communities to Velociraptor, while also enhancing our monitoring, digital forensics and incident response capabilities for customers.”

It’s not known if Velocidex Enterprises raised any money prior to its acquisition.

Image: Velociraptor