Gateway security vendor Secure Computing is set to buy access-control and user monitoring vendor Securify in a deal set to enhance Secure's firewall technology.

Securify's appliance offering monitors network traffic according to policies and alerts in real time when it identifies out-of-policy behaviour, according to Secure Computing.

The technology can also carry out automated blocking in routers switches and firewalls.

The proposed acquisition will be a good fit for Secure, as Securify also has a strong customer-base in the government sector, according to Mike Smart, Secure's product manager.

"The [acquisition] will give us better insight into what goes on inside the perimeter – what bits of the network and applications users are accessing," he added. "Once you've got a baseline for user behaviour you can then create policies to look for abnormal behaviour."

The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth calendar quarter of 2008.