Check Point withdraws bid for Sourcefire

Check Point Software Technologies, an Internet security company, on Thursday withdrew its application to acquire intrusion-prevention firm Sourcefire amid protests over the deal by some U.S. government offices.

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The two companies plan to pursue alternative business partnerships instead, Check Point said in a statement.

The trouble appears to be that Check Point is foreign-owned and Sourcefire technology is used to protect the computer assets of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. National Security Agency. According to reports, both DOD and U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation have objected to the sale, questioning whether it's in the interest of national security to have that technology owned by a foreign company.

Check Point is an Israeli-owned company and the deal with Sourcefire fell under the review of the Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S.

The founder of Sourcefire, Martin Roesch, led the development of Snort, an open source intrusion-detection and prevention software on which most of Sourcefire's technology is based.