Technology
Sophos Acquires Braintrace to Provide Next Generation Cybersecurity
By Adedapo Adesanya
Sophos, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity, has announced the acquisition of Braintrace to manage cyber threats and provide responses to its customers.
This further enhances Sophos’ Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem with Braintrace’s proprietary Network Detection and Response (NDR) technology.
Braintrace’s NDR provides deep visibility into network traffic patterns, including encrypted traffic, without the need for Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) decryption. Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, Braintrace launched in 2016 and is privately held.
As part of the acquisition, Braintrace’s developers, data scientists and security analysts have joined Sophos’ global Managed Threat Response (MTR) and Rapid Response teams.
Sophos’ MTR and Rapid Response services business has expanded rapidly, establishing Sophos as one of the largest and fastest-growing MDR providers in the world, with more than 5,000 active customers.
Braintrace’s NDR technology will support Sophos’ MTR and Rapid Response analysts and Extended Detection and Response (XDR) customers through integration into the Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem, which underpins all Sophos products and services.
The Braintrace technology will also serve as the launchpad to collect and forward third-party event data from firewalls, proxies, virtual private networks (VPNs), and other sources.
These additional layers of visibility and event ingestion will significantly improve threat detection, threat hunting and response to suspicious activity.
Speaking on the acquisition, Mrs Joe Levy, chief technology officer, Sophos said, “You can’t protect what you don’t know is there, and businesses of all sizes often miscalculate their assets and attack surfaces, both on-premises and in the cloud. Attackers take advantage of this, often going after weakly protected assets as a means of initial access.
“Defenders benefit from an ‘air traffic control system’ that sees all network activity, reveals unknown and unprotected assets, and exposes evasive malware more reliably than Intrusion Protection Systems (IPS).”
“We’re particularly excited that Braintrace built this technology specifically to provide better security outcomes to their Managed Detection and Response (MDR) customers.
“It’s hard to beat the effectiveness of solutions built by teams of skilled practitioners and developers to solve real-world cybersecurity problems,” he added.
Sophos will deploy Braintrace’s NDR technology as a virtual machine, fed from traditional observability points such as a Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) port or a network Test Access Point (TAP) to inspect both north-south traffic at boundaries or east-west traffic within networks.
These deployments help discover threats inside any type of network, including those that remain encrypted, serving as a complement to the decryption capabilities of Sophos Firewall.
The technology’s packet and flow engine feed a variety of machine learning models trained to detect suspicious or malicious network patterns, such as connections to Command and Control (C2) servers, lateral movement and communications with suspicious domains.
Since Braintrace built its NDR technology specifically for predictive, passive monitoring, its engine also provides intelligent network packet capture that IT security administrators and threat hunters can use as supporting evidence during investigations. The novel NDR analysis and prediction technique is patent pending.
On his part, Mr Bret Laughlin, CEO and co-founder of Braintrace said, “NDR is critical to successful threat hunting. Braintrace’s competitive differentiation is its unique NDR technology that our MDR analysts leveraged for finding, interrupting and remediating cyberattacks.
“With our own NDR technology, the team responds faster and more accurately because of the real-time, automated visibility and threat verification they have into encrypted traffic.
“We built Braintrace’s NDR technology from the ground up for detection and now, with Sophos, it will fit into a complete system to provide cross-product detection and response across a multi-vendor ecosystem.”
Braintrace’s NDR technology is a key component for defending against cyberattacks today and in the future.
Sophos research demonstrates how adversaries aggressively and constantly change tactics to evade detection and execute their attacks.
Braintrace’s technology helps uncover malicious C2 traffic from malware, such as ColbaltStrike, BazaLoader and TrickBot, as well as zero-days, that could lead to ransomware and other attacks. This visibility allows threat hunters and analysts to pre-empt any potential ransomware attack, including recent strikes by REvil and DarkSide.
Sophos plans to introduce Braintrace’s NDR technology for MTR and XDR in the first half of 2022.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has raised alarm over the increasing damage to telecommunications infrastructure nationwide, revealing that Nigeria currently records an average of 1,100 fibre cut incidents weekly.
The Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said during a Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) and Sustainability Conference in Lagos on Thursday that the commission also recorded 545 cases of access denial and 99 cases of theft on a weekly basis.
The event was organised by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) in collaboration with the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) themed Critical National ICT Infrastructure and Industry Sustainability, Way Forward.
Mr Maida, who was represented by Mr Edoyemi Ogoh, Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity Department, NCC, said that these incidents threatened service delivery, operational stability, and national security.
“These are not just numbers. They reflect a national emergency. Every fibre cut, every theft, and every case of sabotage contributes to dropped calls, failed transactions, interrupted emergency services and economic losses.
He added that the damages had become a major barrier to sustaining the country’s digital economy, which relied heavily on resilient telecom infrastructure.
“We are ensuring Nigerians understand that damage to telecom infrastructure affects not just big companies, but ordinary people who depend on mobile services, ATMs, hospitals and security alerts,” Mr Maida said.
He added that collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was key to aligning telecom infrastructure protection with the nation’s broader security architecture.
The NCC boss further identified access denial to base station sites as a growing challenge, noting that in many cases, operators were prevented from conducting essential maintenance and operations, thereby prolonging network outages.
He noted that the situation was further compounded by Right-of-Way (RoW) bottlenecks, complex and delayed permit processes, and the rising cost of operations due to heavy reliance on diesel-powered generators, stating, “The security situation in parts of the country also poses a real barrier to safe and timely maintenance of telecom sites.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A significant milestone has been reached by the leading global platform for verifying contacts and blocking unwanted communications, Truecaller, as its monthly active users in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region have surpassed 100 million.
A statement from the organisation disclosed that the figures were 19 per cent more than its active monthly users in August 2024.
It was also stated that numbers are from its users who downloaded the Trucaller app on their Android and iOS devices.
Some of the largest markets in the MEA region for Truecaller are Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Algeria, Ghana, and Jordan.
Typically, Truecaller is used on 20-45 per cent of connected smartphones in these markets, reflecting its massive adoption for blocking unwanted communications.
Commenting on the this development, the chief executive of Trucaller, Mr Rishit Jhunjhunwala, said, “With the Middle East and Africa experiencing significant growth in smartphone adoption and mobile data adoption, we’re really happy that we’re able to solve communication problems for individuals and businesses in that region.
“MEA, like India and many other markets, are mobile first markets with your mobile number being the primary identifier and Truecaller has always grown organically in such markets.
“We’re continuing to strengthen our organization and our partnerships in the region, because we believe that the MEA is poised for significant growth for many years ahead.”
Trucaller, which has its headquarters in Sweden, was listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm in 2021, and has over 450 million active users, with more than a billion downloads since launch and close to 56 billion unwanted calls identified and blocked in 2024 alone.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), which acts as the umbrella body for all mobile network operators, tower companies, and telecommunications infrastructure providers in Nigeria, has raised concerns over the ongoing disruptions to the supply of diesel to telecoms cell sites across the country.
In a statement released on Thursday by ALTON and signed by its Chairman, Mr Gbenga Adebayo, the telcos called for uninterrupted access to be granted to the diesel supply locations, and urged all parties involved to embrace constructive dialogue to resolve any matter, without further disruption to essential services.
According to the operators, such disruptions could cause base stations to shut down, thereby leading to poor telecoms service delivery and possible collapse of the entire telecoms sector.
“Telcos are deeply concerned about ongoing disruptions to the supply logistics of diesel to cell sites across the country,” the statement said.
ALTON said members of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA), on Tuesday, blocked access to diesel loading depots in Kaduna, Lagos, and Koko (Delta State), preventing the distribution of diesel to thousands of telecommunications sites operated by one of its key members, IHS Towers.
“This action, reportedly stemming from allegations by IHS of diesel misappropriation against two member companies of NOGASA and which is being investigated by the requisite authorities, has resulted in a critical threat to the operation of some of the 16,000 telecommunications sites nationwide, servicing Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).
“These sites not only power mobile and internet services for millions of Nigerians, but also support essential services such as banking transactions, hospital communications, emergency response systems, and national security operations.”
“While ALTON does not necessarily interfere in disputes between its members and third parties, we are gravely concerned about the wider implications of this action on national infrastructure and public safety.
“We recognise and deeply respect the vital role NOGASA and NUPENG have played in sustaining Nigeria’s energy supply chain and supporting national development over the years, and we trust that they will continue to uphold these values by ensuring that their actions do not jeopardize critical national infrastructure or public welfare,” it added.
The body then requested that uninterrupted access be granted to the diesel supply locations, and urged all parties involved to embrace constructive dialogue to resolve the matter, without further disruption to essential services.
They also reminded all stakeholders that telecommunications infrastructure had been officially classified as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) under Nigerian law, insisting that any deliberate disruption or blockade that affects the operation of such infrastructure constitutes a serious threat to national security and economic stability and will attract strict legal consequences.
ALTON also called on the leadership of NUPENG and NOGASA, to intervene by calling their members to order, adding that disputes must be resolved within the framework of lawful contracts and applicable legal processes, without resorting to actions that endanger the operations of an entire industry and the lives and livelihoods that depend on it.
“We also call on relevant authorities, including the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and other critical stakeholders, to urgently intervene to forestall a looming nationwide communications blackout.
“ALTON remains fully committed to ensuring quality, reliable, and resilient telecommunications services for all Nigerians. However, disruptions of this nature undermine our members’ ability to maintain and improve service delivery and threaten the integrity of the country’s digital and communications ecosystem,” the statement further said.
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