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Barracuda Networks

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Barracuda Networks
Company typePrivate
Industry
Founded2003; 21 years ago (2003)
Founders
Headquarters
Campbell, California
,
U.S.
Key people
  • Hatem Naguib (CEO)
  • Erin Hintz (CMO)
  • Joe Billante (CFO)
  • Nell O'Donnell (GC)
  • Neal Bradbury (CPO)
  • Geoff Waters (CRO)
  • Kim Mota (CHRO)
Products
RevenueUS$352.65 million (2017)
OwnerKKR
Number of employees
1001-5000
Websitebarracuda.com

Barracuda Networks, Inc. is a company providing security, networking and storage products based on network appliances and cloud services.

History

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Barracuda Networks was founded in 2003 by Dean Drako (founding CEO), Michael Perone, and Zach Levow; the company introduced the Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall in the same year.[1] In 2007 the company moved its headquarters to Campbell, California,[2] and opened an office in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[3]

In January 2006, it closed its first outside investment of $40 million from Sequoia Capital and Francisco Partners.[4]

On January 29, 2008, Barracuda Networks was sued by Trend Micro over their use of the open source anti-virus software Clam AntiVirus, which Trend Micro claimed to be in violation of their patent on 'anti-virus detection on an SMTP or FTP gateway'.[5] In addition to providing samples of prior art in an effort to render Trend Micro's patent invalid, in July 2008 Barracuda launched a countersuit against Trend Micro claiming Trend Micro violated several antivirus patents Barracuda Networks had acquired from IBM.[6]

In December 2008, the company launched the BRBL (Barracuda Reputation Block List), its proprietary and dynamic list of known spam servers, for free and public use in blocking spam at the gateway.[7] Soon after opening BRBL many IP addresses got blacklisted without apparent reason and without any technical explanation.[8][9][10]

In 2012, the company became a co-sponsor of the Garmin-Barracuda UCI ProTour cycling team.[11]

Barracuda Networks expanded its research and development facility in Ann Arbor to a 12,500 square foot office building on Depot Street in 2008.[12] By 2012, the Michigan-based research division had grown to about 180 employees, again outgrowing its space. In June 2012, Barracuda signed a lease to occupy the 45,000 square foot office complex previously used as the Borders headquarters on Maynard St in downtown Ann Arbor.[13]

In July 2012, Dean Drako, Barracuda Networks's co-founder, president and CEO since it was founded in 2003, resigned his operating position, remaining on the company's board of directors.[14] At the time of Drako's departure, the company stated it had achieved profitability,[15] a nearly ongoing 30 annual percent growth rate since inception, 150,000 customers worldwide, nearly 1,000 employees, 10 offices, and did business in 80 countries.[16] The company created the office of the CEO as it started a CEO search.[17]

In November 2012, long-time EMC executive William "BJ" Jenkins joined the company as president and CEO.[18] Jenkins worked at EMC since 1998 and most recently served as president of EMC's Backup and Recovery Systems (BRS) Division.[19]

In November 2013, Barracuda Networks went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CUDA.[20]

In November 2015, Barracuda added new Next Generation Firewall to its firewall family.[21]

In November 2017, private equity firm Thoma Bravo announced they were taking Barracuda Networks private in a $1.6 billion buyout.[22] In February 2018 Thoma Bravo announced that it has completed the acquisition.[23]

In April 2022, KKR announced the signing of an agreement to purchase Barracuda Networks from Thoma Bravo for about $4 billion, which was completed in August of that year.[24][25]

Acquisitions

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In September 2007, Barracuda Networks acquired NetContinuum, a company providing application controllers to secure and manage enterprise web applications.[26]

In November 2008, Barracuda Networks expanded into cloud-based backup services by acquiring BitLeap.[27]

In November 2008, Barracuda Networks acquired 3SP, allowing the company to introduce Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Virtual Private Network (VPN) products to allow secure remote access to network file shares, internal Web sites and remote control capabilities for desktops and servers.[28]

In January 2009, Barracuda Networks acquired Yosemite Technologies to add software agents for incremental backups of applications such as Microsoft Exchange Server and SQL Server, and Windows system states.[29][30]

In September 2009, Barracuda Networks acquired controlling interest in phion AG, an Austria-based public company delivering enterprise-class firewalls.[31]

In October 2009, Barracuda Networks acquired Purewire Inc, a software as a service (SaaS) company offering cloud based web filtering and security.[32][33]

In April 2013, Barracuda Networks acquired SignNow.[34]

In 2014, Barracuda Networks purchased C2C Systems UK.[35]

In October 2015, Barracuda Networks acquired Intronis.[36]

In November 2017, Barracuda purchased Sonian[37]

In November 2017, Barracuda announced that it was being acquired by private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo, LLC.[38]

In January 2018, Barracuda acquired PhishLine.[39]

In July 2021, Barracuda Networks acquired SKOUT Cybersecurity.[40]

In April 2022, KKR purchased Barracuda Networks from Thoma Bravo for a reported $4 billion.[41]

In 2024, the company acquired Fyde.[42]

Controversies

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Security Issue

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In January 2013, a backdoor was discovered: "A variety of firewall, VPN, and spam filtering gear sold by Barracuda Networks contains undocumented backdoor accounts that allow people to remotely log in and access sensitive information, researchers with an Austrian security firm have warned." The backdoor was then secured shortly after the announcement.[43]

IP reputation and Emailreg.org

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On April 13, 2009, Emailreg.org published a notice clarifying that it is a whitelist of domains that had no impact on Barracuda Blog Lists.[44] April 10, 2010, a blog entry appeared alleging that Barracuda Networks SPAM blocking deliberately targets non-spamming IP addresses and tries to get them to sign up for an email whitelisting service "emailreg.org". In 2019 Emailreg.org announced that it was no longer accepting new customers but would continue services for existing customers until further notice.[45] Emailreg.org discontinued services shortly thereafter and is no longer in operation.[46] As of May 2, 2020, the same warning appears for some IP addresses.[47][48]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ VentureBeat Barracuda swallows Purewire as it becomes a bigger fish in web-based security services
  2. ^ Weselby, Cathy (March 23, 2007). "Barracuda Networks sinks its teeth into site on Winchester Boulevard". The Campbell Reporter. Archived from the original on December 13, 2007.
  3. ^ Crain's Detroit Business Silicon Valley firm picks Ann Arbor for office
  4. ^ NetworkWorld Barracuda attracts $40 million in venture investment Archived June 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Ars Technica Barracuda defends open-source antivirus from patent attack
  6. ^ Ars Technica Barracuda bites back at Trend Micro in ClamAV patent lawsuit
  7. ^ Linux.com Barracuda offers a new alternative to Spamhaus
  8. ^ "Problems with Barracuda blacklist". Andrew.triumf.ca. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  9. ^ "Everything Linux and Open Source". Linux.com. 2008-12-17. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  10. ^ "BarracudaCentral – another blacklist black hole". Steve.heyvan.com. 2008-11-06. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  11. ^ "Garmin-Cervélo becomes Garmin-Barracuda". January 11, 2012.
  12. ^ Martin, Mike (October 1, 2008). "Barracuda Networks moves into 201 Depot Street in Ann Arbor". Concentrate Media. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
  13. ^ Alfs, Lizzy. "Barracuda Networks signs deal to move hundreds of jobs to ex-Borders offices in downtown Ann Arbor". AnnArbor.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  14. ^ AnnArbor Barracuda Networks CEO resigns to pursue other avenues
  15. ^ ChannelNomics Barracuda Networks CEO resigns Archived 2012-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ CRN Barracuda Networks CEO resigns
  17. ^ Channel Register Exit the Dragon: Barracuda Network CEO stands down
  18. ^ "Longtime EMC Exec Leaves to Head Barracuda Networks". 17 October 2012.
  19. ^ Mellor, Chris. "EMC sidelines Data Domain boss". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  20. ^ SJ Mercury News Biz Break: Barracuda Networks IPO primes pump for Twitter
  21. ^ "Barracuda Adds Powerful New Solutions to Next-Generation Firewall Product Family". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  22. ^ Sawers, Paul (2017-11-22). "Cybersecurity company Barracuda to go private as part of $1.6 billion acquisition". venturebeat.com. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
  23. ^ "Thoma Bravo Completes Acquisition of Barracuda". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. 2018-02-12.
  24. ^ Oguh, Chibuike; Hu, Krystal (April 12, 2022). "KKR to buy cybersecurity firm Barracuda from Thoma Bravo in deal worth about $4 bln". Reuters.
  25. ^ Dorbian, Iris (August 16, 2022). "KKR completes acquisition of cybersecurity firm Barracuda". PE Hub.
  26. ^ "Barracuda announces purchase of NetContinuum". Network World. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  27. ^ InformationWeek Barracuda Swims Into The Cloud
  28. ^ Eweek Barracuda Networks Breaks into SSL VPN Space
  29. ^ PCWorld Backup Merger Unites Barracuda, Yosemite Archived 2010-09-11 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ "Barracuda Networks Acquires Yosemite Technologies; Integrates Popular Yosemite Backup Software with Barracuda Backup Service | Reuters". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  31. ^ Silicon Valley Business Journal Barracuda Networks takes controlling interest in phion
  32. ^ Atlanta Business Chronicle Barracuda buys Purewire Inc.
  33. ^ "Barracuda Web Security Flex Provides Web Security with No Limits | Reuters". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  34. ^ Homer, Daniel (10 January 2015). "Webinars". Telecoms.com.
  35. ^ Nusca, Andrew (2013-05-22). "Barracuda acquires SignNow; cloud data storage". ZDNet. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  36. ^ Newsham, Jack (2015-09-29). "Chelmsford storage firm Intronis acquired by Barracuda Networks for $65M". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  37. ^ Novinson, Michael (2017-11-08). "Big Data Buy: Barracuda Purchases Cloud Information Archiving And Analytics Specialist Sonian". CRN. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  38. ^ "Thoma Bravo to Take Barracuda Private in $1.6 Billion Buy". www.channelpartnersonline.com. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  39. ^ "Barracuda Hooks PhishLine in Social Engineering Security Acquisition". Dark Reading. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  40. ^ Page, Carly (2021-07-01). "Barracuda acquires Skout Cybersecurity to enter the XDR market". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  41. ^ "KKR Snags Barracuda In $4B Deal Led By Simpson, Kirkland | News | Kirkland & Ellis LLP". www.kirkland.com. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  42. ^ Jolien (2021-02-15). "Barracuda Networks acquires Fyde". Kappa Data. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  43. ^ Dan Goodin (January 24, 2013). "Secret backdoors found in firewall, VPN gear from Barracuda Networks". Ars Technica. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
  44. ^ "EmailReg.org". April 13, 2009. Archived from the original on 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  45. ^ "EmailReg.org". 2018-09-01. Archived from the original on 2018-09-01. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  46. ^ "Emailreg.org -This site can't be reached". Emailreg.org. Archived from the original on 2018-02-24.
  47. ^ aaron (April 10, 2010). "Emailreg.org is a scam". Joystick Junkie. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  48. ^ "BRBL: Sorry, your email was blocked". May 2, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
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