Sophos acquires network threat detection startup Braintrace SHARE Sophos Group PLC today announced that it’s acquiring Braintrace Inc., a startup with technology for detecting malicious data traffic in companies’ on-premises networks and public cloud environments. Sophos is a major cybersecurity provider that has been owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo since a $3.9 billion acquisition in 2019. For enterprises, the U.K.-based company provides firewalls, malware detection software that runs on employee devices and related products. For consumers, Sophos offers a freemium antivirus. The company’s products are used by more than 100 million individual end-users worldwide. Braintrace is a Salt Lake City-based cybersecurity startup. It offers two solutions: managed security services and software for detecting malicious network traffic.