Everfox to Acquire English Hardware Security Vendor Garrison

Everfox plans to purchase a British hardware-enforced security vendor led by an ex-BAE Systems director to give governments more threat prevention and insider risk capabilities.

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The Washington, D.C.-area government cybersecurity provider said its proposed buy of London-based Garrison Technology will give national government, critical infrastructure and enterprise commercial customers a broader set of cybersecurity capabilities. The deal is Everfox’s first since being carved out of Francisco Partners-owned Forcepoint by private equity firm TPG Capital for $2.45 billion in fall 2023 (see: TPG to Buy Forcepoint’s Government Security Unit for $2.45B).

“Knowing them and working with [Garrison] and partnering with them for the past two years made perfect sense, as their complementary technology fits within our strategy of high-assurance cybersecurity,” Everfox CEO Sean Berg told Information Security Media Group.

How Garrison Fits Into Everfox

Berg said Garrison’s hardware-enforced security technology leverages FPGA silicon to ensure malware-free data transfer across networks, providing an added layer of protection critical for high-threat environments and aligning with Everfox’s mission to offer robust cybersecurity for high-consequence missions. Berg praised Garrison for its knowledge and experience in servicing high-assurance clients.

Hardware-enforced security is crucial for critical infrastructure and regulated industries facing greater threats because it offers high levels of protection to address emerging challenges, according to Berg. He said Garrison’s cloud capabilities and hardware isolation technology boost security for high-threat network access, especially in government and regulated industries.

“Garrison’s technology ensures that data passing across networks cannot carry any sort of malware or other threats, providing the high level of assurance needed for government and critical infrastructure use cases,” Berg said.

He said Garrison’s technology fits well within Everfox’s threat protection and insider risk offerings, and new and existing critical infrastructure customers benefit from enhanced security efficacy. Garrison’s technology focuses on remote browser isolation and secure access to different security domains, while Everfox specializes in information transfer between domains, giving protection for high-threat networks.

The two companies serve a similar customer profile, but Everfox is more focused on the United States and Garrison is more focused on the United Kingdom, according to Berg. He said key metrics for the Garrison acquisition – which is expected to close this summer – include growth, enhanced capabilities, technology integration and business profitability (see: CEO Sean Berg on Why Independence Benefits Forcepoint G2CI).

“Given the increasing nature of threats, especially from state actors, the critical infrastructure sector needs to contemplate different levels of cybersecurity to address their most critical assets,” Berg said.

Garrison Technology by the Numbers

Garrison Technology was founded in October 2014 and has been led since inception by David Garfield, who was previously managing director for BAE Systems’ digital intelligence business. The company had 128 employees as of March 31, 2023 – up 25.5% to 102 workers the year prior – and saw sales jump to $25 million, up 58.3% from $15.8 million from the year ended March 31, 2022, regulatory filings stated.

“We created Garrison to develop nation-state-level security technologies that enable the most sensitive government missions to operate efficiently in a digital world,” CEO Garfield said in a statement. “Everfox and Garrison share a similar mission, and we are confident the combination of our complementary hardsec solutions with Everfox’s portfolio will accelerate the delivery of high-assurance security.”

Garrison’s growth was driven from outside the United Kingdom, and sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, skyrocketed by 113.6% to $12 million, while revenue from within the U.K. increased by a more modest 27.4% to $12.9 million. Product sales, meanwhile, leapfrogged by nearly 86% to $19.4 million, while services revenue climbed by a mere 3.8% to $4.3 million, according to regulatory filings.

Garrison’s comprehensive loss for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, worsened slightly to $7.4 million, up from a comprehensive loss of nearly $7.2 million the year prior. Garfield said Garrison’s sales in the United States grew by 157% thanks to the company’s positioning with the federal government as well as good success with onboarding new customers to the company’s browser isolation cloud service.

The company said it uses a hardware-enforced strategy for web security since, unlike software, it isn’t susceptible to hacking, and it creates a rigorously enforced barrier between nation-state web threats and user’s systems. Garrison said its browser isolation tool offers protection against web-based risks, including ransomware attacks, phishing and other forms of malware.

“The operating environment for the defense and intelligence communities has only become more complex, with cyberthreats from sophisticated actors growing in frequency,” TPG Partner Tim Millikin said in a statement. “Garrison’s distinctive technology paired with Everfox’s expertise and history in government security create a powerful solution to further global resilience.”

More than two-thirds of Garrison’s workforce is based in the United Kingdom, with 10% located in the United States and the remainder scattered across countries including Pakistan, India and South Africa. Roughly 60% of Garrison’s workforce is focused on engineering, and IT-Harvest estimated the company’s valuation at between $54 million and $72 million. The company closed a $30 million Series B in 2018.