Palo Alto has bought cloud threat defence company RedLock in a deal said to be worth $173 million.

The purchase will allow Palo Alto Networks to add to its cyber security portfolio, including cloud security analytics, advanced threat detection, continuous security, and compliance monitoring. Palo Alto said new products integrating the new technology will launch on the market next year, helping security teams respond to threats in real time.

The deal will allow Palo Alto customers to automate their responses to cyber risks instead of manually having to assess the potential impact of a hack. At the moment, the company provides API-based security services such as its VM-Series firewall, Aperture, Evident, and GlobalProtect cloud service, in use by more than 6,000 customers worldwide.

“We are thrilled to add RedLock’s technology to our cloud security offerings,» Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks said. «The addition of their technologies allows us to offer the most comprehensive security for multi-cloud environments, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure, and significantly strengthens our cloud strategy going forward.”

“We are excited to join Palo Alto Networks to bring together the strength of our cloud analytics and their industry-leading compliance technologies to help security teams protect their organizations,» Varun Badhwar, co-founder and CEO of RedLock added.

The deal will close during Palo Alto Networks fiscal first quarter, as long as the proposed deal meets the company’s expectations. RedLock co-founders, Varun Badhwar and Gaurav Kumar, will join Palo Alto Networks, although neither company has revealed whether any of its other staff will move over to the Networking business.

In February this year, RedLock security specialists highlighted flaws in Tesla’s cloud network by breaching its systems and stealing resources needed to mine for cryptocurrencies.