New York and Reston, Virginia-based Option3, a cybersecurity private equity firm known for its deep roots in the U.S. national security apparatus and a seasoned track record in finance and mergers & acquisitions, has planned to launch a comprehensive Zero Trust cybersecurity platform. The initiative kickstarts with a strategic acquisition agreement to acquire Onclave Networks, a move pending shareholder approval and signaling the beginning of a series of acquisitions anticipated to surpass $100 million in value within the next year.
Founded in 2015, Option3 has made a name for itself in the cybersecurity investing space by providing a variety of investment portfolios to support several cutting-edge enterprises in the cyber ecosystem. The business would be well positioned to meet today’s growing cybersecurity concerns because of its expertise, which combines decades of classified national security knowledge with acute insight in investment and financial markets.
The newly announced Zero Trust platform by Option3 is set to expedite the adoption of Zero Trust security measures, a critical framework designed to bolster national cybersecurity defenses. This initiative arrives on the heels of President Biden’s landmark 2021 Executive Order, which mandates the federal government’s transition towards Zero Trust architecture, underscoring the administration’s commitment to fortifying cybersecurity protocols across national government networks.
The board's unanimous approval of Option3's acquisition of Onclave Networks indicates the company's strong support of Onclave's innovative use of Zero Trust technology and its crucial contribution to the development of the cybersecurity sector. Operating Partner Lisa Donnan of Option3 called Onclave a “pioneering company” and emphasized the firm's potential and noteworthy accomplishments in the Zero Trust field.
‘Military Grade Zero Trust’
With this acquisition, Option3 is launching a larger plan to combine multiple Zero Trust businesses - each with distinct and complementary skills - into a single, cohesive platform. Manish Thakur, Managing Partner at Option3, says that the company is negotiating acquisitions with well-established businesses that can help expand the platform's reach and provide a comprehensive range of professional consulting services and Zero Trust solutions.
Option3's platform aims to offer what it calls the first ‘Military Grade Zero Trust’ capability to the market and raise the bar for cybersecurity technology. Although the platform's original target market was the federal government, it eventually hopes to expand to include key private sectors including the military industrial base and essential infrastructure sectors.
Lisa Donnan emphasized the Zero Trust platform's capacity to provide complete protection against a broad range of security threats and emphasized the critical need for cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions to counter the ever-expanding threat environment. The next acquisitions are anticipated to greatly strengthen U.S. national defense systems and provide the Department of Defense and the commercial sector with unmatched Military-Grade Zero Trust capabilities.
