On August 15th, IBM (NYSE:IBM) announced it reached a deal to acquire Trusteer, a Boston-based software-security firm focusing on financial and enterprise cyberthreats. As part of the deal, IBM will absorb Trusteer’s R&D lab in Tel Aviv into its security organization. One major focal point for Trusteer is their mobile security product line, which focuses on preventing intrusion and data theft through enterprise-connected mobile devices.

Smartphones and tablets are becoming integral tools for large and small businesses alike. Mobile devices – like an iPhone equipped with the SalesForce app – are a huge benefit to employees and their employer by allowing them to work remotely and efficiently while away from the office, but these devices also introduce a new set of vulnerabilities into an organization’s security. Our data shows that a large number of these devices have exploitable security flaws that leave sensitive enterprise data vulnerable. A mobile device connected to an enterprise’s network provides a link into the organization that many aren’t adequately protecting.

This acquisition reinforces two key trends: security is an increasingly important factor for all organizations and more needs to be done to protect valuable data from theft. As the number of end-points an organization deals with increases, so does the risk for a security breach. IBM recognizes this and plans to use the Trusteer acquisition to improve its enterprise security products, but the same principles hold true in the embedded industry.

The embedded world is more connected than ever before and this trend continues to grow. Thinking back to famous malware threats such as Stuxnet infiltrating networked manufacturing platforms, it’s clear that inadequate protection of these systems is a major vulnerability to users of embedded software and hardware. Purchasing Trusteer highlights a developing industry trend: end-point protection is becoming a new priority for businesses, embedded or enterprise, in order to keep cyberthreats from harming their operations.