Mira Security: Darktrace’s Plan to Tackle the Encryption Gap

Encrypted network traffic represents one of cybersecurity’s most persistent challenges. While encryption protects data in transit, it creates blind spots for security teams trying to monitor network activity and detect threats.

Darktrace hopes to tackle this problem with its acquisition of network traffic specialist Mira Security, bringing together Mira Security’s in-line decryption capabilities with Darktrace’s AI-powered analysis platform and promising enhanced visibility across enterprise network environments.

The transaction builds on an existing partnership between Darktrace and Mira, and also marks Darktrace’s second acquisition this year after purchasing cloud security specialist Cado Security in January.

As part of the acquisition, Mira Security’s engineering team – spread across South Africa and the United States – will join Darktrace’s research and development division with expertise in high-performance networking and hardware acceleration.

“The acquisition of Mira Security is another building block in our strategy to develop best-in-class cybersecurity solutions and keep our customers safe through continuous innovation,” says Phil Pearson, Chief Strategy Officer at Darktrace.

Mira Security, he describes, will form a “a valuable source of insight for our AI, helping us provide unparalleled detection and response capabilities at scale.”

Regulated industries drive encryption security demand

Financial services, government agencies and critical infrastructure operators face particular pressure to maintain network visibility while meeting strict encryption requirements. These sectors cannot compromise on either security monitoring or data protection, creating demand for solutions that provide both simultaneously.

The combined Darktrace and Mira Security technology stack targets this specific market need. Rather than forcing organisations to choose between encryption and visibility, the integrated platform promises both without compromising network performance or requiring infrastructure changes.

Darktrace’s network detection and response platform Darktrace / NETWORK is the established leader in the space. The company has been named a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Network Detection and Response, maintains a 4.7 star rating on Gartner Peer Insights and received Leader designation in both the IDC MarketScape and KuppingerCole’s Leadership Compass for network detection and response.

Technology integration creates market opportunities

For Darktrace, the Mira Security technology enhances its ActiveAI Security Platform, which already integrates network, cloud and email security under unified management. The platform uses machine learning to establish baseline behaviour patterns for individual environments, enabling detection of anomalous activity that may indicate threats.

“The combination of Mira Security and Darktrace’s unique technology and brilliant R&D talent will create even more exciting possibilities for protecting complex network environments,” says Niel Viljoen, Founder and CEO of Mira Security.

Phil adds that bringing the Mira Security team into Darktrace means the company “will be able to accelerate innovation, deepen the capabilities of our market-leading Network product and unlock even greater security performance for our customers.”

The deal positions Darktrace to address emerging network security challenges as enterprise encryption adoption accelerates. Traditional security tools that rely on packet inspection and content analysis struggle with encrypted traffic, creating gaps that threat actors can exploit.

With over 2,400 employees supporting nearly 10,000 customers globally, Darktrace has built substantial scale since its 2013 founding. The company has filed over 200 patent applications from research facilities in Cambridge and The Hague. It was acquired by US private equity firm Thoma Bravo in 2024. 

Niel concludes: “Together, Mira Security and Darktrace will be able to deliver new value for customers and partners.”