Check Point makes $586 million offer for Protect Data Check Point Software Technologies plans to acquire Pointsec Mobile Technologies in an effort to extend its security offering to laptops and other remote access devices. Check Point made the $586 million offer for Protect Data, the owner of Pointsec, on Monday.Check Point specializes in products that help businesses secure their corporate networks. With the Pointsec acquisition, Check Point hopes to extend its security offering to include corporate data, the company said. Pointsec offers encryption software that helps companies secure data that may be stored on employee laptops, PCs, smart phones, and PDAs (personal digital assistants).Check Point hinted that other similar moves might follow, saying that Pointsec is the first step in Check Point’s plan to expand its offering into data security. Demand for products that can protect data on remote devices is growing as more companies of all sizes enable their employees to access private corporate networks, Check Point said.Other security companies are also offering new products to help enterprises secure themselves against threats from remote access. Last week, Nokia introduced a network security appliance that includes software from Sourcefire to protect against threats arising from employees who remotely access corporate data from devices like smart phones and laptops.The Pointsec acquisition is expected to close early next year. It is unclear whether Check Point will run into similar problems with this acquisition as it did with a proposed acquisition of Sourcefire earlier this year. Check Point withdrew its offer for Sourcefire after some U.S. government agencies, which are Sourcefire customers, protested in apparent concern about national security implications of the acquisition because Check Point is an Israeli company.Pointsec supplies its encryption software to government agencies, as well as enterprises, around the world. SecurityTechnology Industry