Robin Godwin: ZeroFox Acquires Phoenix-Based Company, Reopens South Baltimore Office

ZeroFox, the South Baltimore-based external threat intelligence and protection company, has made its second corporate acquisition in the last nine months with its recent purchase of Phoenix-based Vigilante.

Vigilante is described as an “expert in dark web threat intelligence.” ZeroFox will keep the company’s Arizona office.

“This announcement is another important milestone for ZeroFox and it affirms our commitment to lead the charge globally in threat intelligence and protection. The dark web and criminal underground are critical requirements of modern threat intelligence programs and the agitators are moving quickly,” said ZeroFox CEO James C. Foster in a press release. “Attacks and breaches are occurring at an all-time high, and organizations need a clear view of the underground economy, how bots may be attacking them or if their credentials, credit cards, personally identifiable information (PII) and other information could be traded there, as well as understanding emerging tactics, exploits and vulnerabilities to stay ahead. This new capability increases the scale and comprehensiveness of our dark web intelligence capabilities to our customers, protecting their organization, people, customers and information.”

“The combination of our otherwise inaccessible datasets, our team of researchers and operatives, along with ZeroFox’s scale and artificial intelligence, now powers the industry’s only truly complete dark web intelligence service,” said Vigilante Co-founder Mike Kirschner in a press release. “We are proud to be a part of ZeroFox and bring our best-in-class capabilities to a broader set of customers. The new combination is the most robust Dark Web offering on the market. The unique focus on taking action to achieve results truly protects the organizations with whom we work.”

ZeroFox acquired Reston-based Cyveillance in October and took over the company’s office in Virginia.

ZeroFox now has more than 500 employees and offices in Baltimore, Reston, Phoenix, London, Chile, Israel, and India.

ZeroFox reopened its headquarters at 1838 S. Charles St. this month. It was shut down for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Foster said the company is still figuring out its new hybrid office environment.

“The economy is different than it was 18 months ago,” said Foster.

Foster said some of his workforce couldn’t wait to get back to the office, some like working at home, and some want a mix of both. Foster noted that some of ZeroFox’s employees moved out of the area during the pandemic.

ZeroFox is taking time to figure out this new work environment. He noted the company will not have rigid rules that will require everyone to return to the office, but they also won’t consider going completely virtual.

Foster said catered lunches and events for his staff are returning.

ZeroFox was looking for additional office space in early-2020 after outgrowing its 11,000 sq. ft. footprint in South Baltimore in a former Pabst facility shaped like a castle. But, Foster said they currently don’t have a need for additional office space in Baltimore.

ZeroFox’s team also returned to the office with a heap of new construction projects surrounding them. An ExtraSpace Storage facility is under construction across Wells St. from the headquarters, the Alta Federal Hill apartment project is going up on Hanover St. across from the office building, and a major development phase a block away in Port Covington is under construction bringing five new buildings to the area.

“There have been a lot of changes since we were last there. It’s loud, you can hear it,” said Foster, who added though that investment in the area is great for ZeroFox.