Magnet Forensics acquires cybersecurity software firm Comae Technologies
Adam Belsher of Magnet Forensics
Wateloo, Ontario, Canada. 5 May 2022 – Magnet Forensics, a developer of digital investigation solutions for more than 4,000 enterprises and public safety organisations in over 100 countries, today announced the acquisition of the strategic IP assets of Comae Technologies, a cybersecurity firm that specialises in incident response and memory analysis. As part of the acquisition, Comae founder Matt Suiche will lead a memory analysis and incident response research and development team at Magnet Forensics, where he will further develop a memory analysis platform and integrate the technology into the company’s existing solutions. Suiche’s team at Comae will also work closely with Magnet Forensics going forward.
Comae is a UAE-based cybersecurity company that specialises in cloud-based memory analysis used to recover evidence from the volatile memory of devices. The acquisition will allow Magnet Forensics to accelerate the development of the memory analysis platform within the Magnet Idea Lab, an incubator made up of hundreds of investigators and analysts from police agencies and enterprises.
“Memory analysis plays a critical role in incident response investigations because it allows enterprises and public safety agencies to recover buried evidence and understand what happened on devices involved in cyber incidents,” says Adam Belsher, chief executive officer of Magnet Forensics. “Very few organisations have the expertise and knowledge to develop memory analysis solutions. With Comae’s platform and the help of its memory analysis experts, Magnet Forensics can address a growing need for our customers while continuing to build on our comprehensive digital investigation platforms.”
Enterprises and police agencies are both looking to use memory analysis to respond to increases in the volume and complexity of cyber incidents. For enterprises, memory analysis can be the key to identifying the compromised devices in a malware or ransomware attack. In a digital investigation, analysts will often examine memory first because it can reveal the infection vectors and post-compromise activities of cyber incidents. It can also help analysts identify modern malware variants. Memory analysis can provide the same benefits to police agencies in their cybercrime investigations and give them another avenue to recover evidence from devices involved in cyber enabled crimes such as homicides, human trafficking, terrorism and organised crime.
Comae was founded in 2016 by Suiche, one of the experts on memory analysis and incident response. Prior to founding Comae, Suiche founded two other firms: CloudVolumes, an application virtualisation company that was acquired by VMware in 2014 and MoonSols, a digital forensics and incident response enterprise. Suiche, who began regularly presenting at international security conferences as a teenager, has also held a research position with the Netherlands Forensic Institute, which works alongside public safety agencies to combat cybercrime.
“Magnet Forensics is widely recognised in the digital forensics and incident response industry for its innovative solutions, which are proving to be increasingly pivotal in protecting public safety, and the leading talent developing them,” says Suiche, Magnet Forensics’ director, memory and incident response research and development. “My team and I are thrilled to be continuing our work alongside the team at Magnet Forensics, where the incident response technology can help protect thousands of enterprises and communities from cybercrime.
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