MCI buys NetSec

MCI has acquired security services firm NetSec for $105 million, officials from both companies announced today.

"We want to make MCI's brand synonymous with security," said Jonathan Crane, MCI executive vice president of strategy and corporate development. That is "a very overarching statement, but we want to be known as the company that understands security."

MCI officials identified NetSec as an ideal acquisition to broaden an aggressive effort to increase the company's security profile, he said.

"This acquisition is, we think, a startling one to the industry," he said. NetSec brings capabilities such as expertise in security vulnerability assessments that MCI had lacked.

The move is also good for NetSec, said Glenn Hazard, the company's chief executive officer and chairman of the board.

"The combination of our assets and our core capabilities together allows NetSec to accelerate our growth," he said. "We've been focused on delivering a set of security managed services and network managed services for five or six years."

Hazard said that he believes NetSec is a market leader in its field. "We've had a maniacal focus to be the best in breed, best in class," he said.