The Israeli startup of Fireglass is founded in 2014 by the top manager of Check Point Software Technologies in 2014. The company advances technology which it calls "isolation of the browser". Its essence consists in creation of virtual websites by means of which the staff of the companies can browse any content on the Internet, without being afraid for penetration of a virus into corporate network. Even if the user follows the malicious URL or visits the unprotected resource, all contents and investments are processed in the special isolated environment.
In 2016 Fireglass attracted $20 million investments. By the beginning of July, 2017 the number of staff of the company is about 40 people.
2017: Symantec buys Fireglass
On July 6, 2017 the American producer of the antivirus software Symantec announced Fireglass purchase to expand number of the products providing to the companies protection of e-mail and Internet surfing against cyberthreats.
How many Symantec paid for Fireglass acquisition, officially is not reported. The Israeli edition The Marker writes that the cost of the transaction could be $250 million.
According to the CEO of Symantec Greg Clark, the company looked for long ago an opportunity for development of insulating technologies, similar subjects which are offered by Fireglass. Analysts of Gartner predict that by 2021 about a half of the companies will use functions of isolation of browsers. They are implemented by medical and financial institutions, the government organizations and telecommunication companies.
Integration of insulating Fireglass technology into solutions of Symantec can lower number of cases of emergence of security risks by 70%, Clark noted. Besides, according to him, the transaction will allow Symantec to expand activity in Israel — in the country which became the center of development of technologies of the information security (IS) in recent years. According to Reuters, by the beginning of July, 2017 in Israel there are more than 400 cybersecurity startups to which share about 20% of world private investments into technologies of cyber security fall.[1]