Zscaler completes Red Canary purchase for $675M

Cloud security giant Zscaler has completed its $675 million acquisition of managed detection and response leader Red Canary, aiming to create a unified security operations platform by fusing its massive data network with Red Canary's AI-driven threat expertise.

A firehose meets its brain: The deal combines Zscaler’s network, which processes 500 billion transactions daily, with Red Canary’s AI models and security analysts. For Zscaler, it plugs a critical visibility gap into what's happening on endpoints, while Red Canary gets to leverage its new parent's massive salesforce and international reach.

An uneasy marriage: But the deal marries two different philosophies. In an analysis, Forrester warns that Zscaler’s aggressive, sales-driven DNA could clash with Red Canary's reputation, which was built on deep-seated security research—a tension that famously plagued the FireEye and Mandiant merger.

Stacking the deck: This isn't Zscaler's first move into SecOps, having acquired data fabric provider Avalor last year. The strategy reflects a broader industry "platformization" trend, as major security vendors race to become a one-stop-shop for enterprise customers.

The bottom line: The deal’s success now hinges on whether Zscaler can retain Red Canary’s top talent without smothering the very expertise it just paid nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars to acquire.

The wider view: The acquisition is part of a bigger vision, with Zscaler's CEO aiming to displace traditional SIEM tools as the hub of security operations. The move is also expected to create new opportunities for the company's network of channel partners, all while the MDR market itself continues its shift toward more proactive services.