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A company which grew out of Edinburgh Napier PhD research has been taken over by a California-based cybersecurity giant. Edinburgh-based ZoneFox, which specialises in cloud-based insider threat detection, has become part of the Fortinet empire.

ZoneFox, which spun out from Edinburgh Napier in 2009, grew out of the PhD work of digital forensics student Jamie Graves and his research supervisor Professor Bill Buchanan, from the university’s School of Computing.

The two were unhappy with the tools available for investigating data breaches, and teamed up to launch an information security software company with the support of Scottish Enterprise.

The ZoneFox product protects business assets from malicious and accidental threats from within a company by monitoring employee behaviour and data flow for abnormal activity.

ZoneFox is used by clients to protect intellectual property by monitoring users in real time for breaches of company policy as well as providing forensic tracking for auditing and investigation.

Dr Graves, founder and chief executive of ZoneFox, said he was delighted to join the Fortinet team.

He added: “ZoneFox will always have its roots in Scotland and will remain part of the local Scottish Security community to both access and develop talent.”

Professor Bill Buchanan said: “As a spinout from our School of Computing, Jamie has managed to push forward and has developed a world-leading security product.

“Their success also highlights the strength of the innovation infrastructure within Scotland, and especially in Edinburgh. The ready supply of experts in key areas of cyber security and in business development has showcased the city as being a leader in supporting the development of technology-driven businesses.”