Spam: CA plans to kick it to the Qurb

Computer Associates has splashed out on yet another company in the security space - this time acquiring email security firm Qurb to provide greater anti-spam protection to customers.

Toby Weiss, senior vice president and general manager of CA's eTrust brand, said the deal further reflects the continuing need among CA customers and all computer users to regain control of their inboxes.

In the past year CA has been among the most active in the acquisition space - harking back to the chequebook happy days of the 1990s.

In the security space alone the acquisition of Pest Patrol brought spyware-blocking technology in-house while the $430m purchase of Netegrity added identity and access management technology.

While the company has been similarly active in other areas the considerable fleshing out of its eTrust brand is symptomatic of a clamour for consolidation in the security sector at present with any company which sits still long enough seemingly an acquisition target for major players CA, Cisco, Microsoft and Symantec.

James Governor from analyst house Red Monk told silicon.com: "CA is the über-aggregator of technology companies. It's something CA has always done and in general it has always done it well. Portfolio management is all about picking your moments and in the security sector CA appears to be choosing the right companies at the right time."

And it's a strategy with little room for error, said Governor.

"When you're talking about keeping up with the likes of Cisco, Microsoft and Symantec you really don't want to get left behind," he said.

CA has been licensing Qurb technology since 2004 but will now be bringing the company into the Islandia, New York-based fold, continuing to market it under the eTrust brand.

Felix Lin, CEO and founder of Qurb, will join CA as vice president of strategy for eTrust. The terms of the deal were not disclosed as Qurb was privately held.