Cisco has announced its intent to acquire cloud-native networking and security company Isovalent for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of the 2024 fiscal year.

Isolvent specializes in open-source extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF) technology, leading the development of cloud-native networking and security solution Cilium. Its eBPF-based solutions are designed to provide a platform for building security systems that can protect cloud workloads at runtime.

Cisco reportedly plans to integrate Isovalent’s capabilities into its AI-driven, integrated, hybrid cloud security platform, the Cisco Security Cloud.

Earlier in December, the company announced two new AI-powered assistants, a firewall policy helper, and an encrypted visibility engine for all its firewall models.

Analyst QuickTake : Isovalent is the latest in a long run of cybersecurity acquisitions by Cisco this year. In September, the networking giant announced a mega USD 28 billion deal to acquire Splunk , having acquired email threat detection platform Armorblox , identity management firm Oort , cloud security companies Valtix , and Lightspin earlier in 2023.