Global network and endpoint security firm Sophos has acquired Indianapolis-based privately-owned Rook Security to create re-sellable managed detection and response (MDR) services.

According to Sophos, Rook Security was founded in 2008 and provides a 24/7 team of cyberthreat hunters and incident response experts who monitor, hunt, analyse and respond to security incidents for businesses.

Sophos intends to combine Rook Security's threat detection, investigation and response capabilities with its recently acquired DarkBytes technology platform.

It will then deliver the new MDR services via its network of 47,000 channel partners worldwide.

Joe Levy, chief technology officer at Sophos, said, "Cybercriminals are relentlessly trying to exploit organisations with techniques ranging from tried-and-true phishing emails to the more recent trend of 'hacker pen-testing' to find weaknesses in their surface area. As a result, businesses need 24/7 monitoring and management of what is happening on their network, yet many of them do not have the expertise, can't keep up or don't have the security teams in-house to optimally configure and manage security around-the-clock. With MDR, Sophos' channel partners will be able to provide businesses of all sizes with expert services that continuously detect, hunt for and respond to security incidents."

In addition, Sophos plans to align its synchronised security technology and product portfolio with Rook Security's 24/7 services for MDR customers.

Rook Security experts will also be able to review these customer security postures to ensure optimal policy configurations for Sophos products across estates, Sophos added.

J.J. Thompson, founder and CEO, Rook Security, said, "Rook Security provides managed detection and response services to detect and eliminate cyber threats. Through threat hunting and data analytics, Rook Security's experts rapidly detect and mitigate active attacks. We are excited to bring our experts and service delivery innovation to Sophos, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity. Together, we can implement faster, more effective threat detection and response capabilities to better protect businesses."