Facebook acquires server security firm PrivateCore

Facebook yesterday sid it had acquired secure server technology company PrivateCore, in a bid to make user data more secure Reuters reported.

The company, founded in 2012, is based in California and develops software that authenticates and secures server data to protect against malware, unauthorised access, and malicious hardware devices.

Facebook could use the software to secure tens of thousands of servers that it runs. The social network says it has a billion plus monthly active users, and, therefore has a lot of vulnerable data to protect.

"Facebook has done more than any company to connect the world, and we want to use our secure server technology to help make the world's connections more secure," PrivateCore CEO Oded Horovitz said in a statement. "Working together with Facebook, there is a huge opportunity to pursue our joint vision at scale with incredible impact."

According to a Facebook spokesperson the social network planned to add PrivateCore's technology to its server stack, CNET reported.

PrivateCore and Facebook shared a vision of a more connected, secure world, CNET reported citing a Facebook spokesperson.

The company planned to deploy PrivateCore's groundbreaking technology into Facebook's server stack to help further our mission to protect the people who use our service, the spokesperson added.

The social network did not disclose financial terms for the acquisition of PrivateCore, which had raised $2.25 million in funding in 2012 from Foundation Capital.

 ''I've seen how much people care about the security of data they entrust to services like Facebook,'' Facebook chief security officer Joe Sullivan wrote in a post on Facebook announcing the deal.

The deal comes amid high-profile data breaches, the latest being the massive theft of 1.2 billlion internet logins and passwords by a Russian crime ring, reported by a cybersecurity firm.