Red Hat has signed a definitive agreement to acquire container and Kubernetes-native security startup StackRox.

With StackRox, Red Hat will focus on transforming how cloud-native workloads are secured by expanding and refining Kubernetes’ native controls, as well as shifting security left into the container build and CI/CD phase, to provide a solution for enhanced security up and down the entire IT stack and throughout the lifecycle.

The StackRox software provides visibility across all Kubernetes clusters, by directly deploying components for enforcement and deep data collection into the Kubernetes cluster infrastructure.

In addition to Red Hat OpenShift, StackRox will continue to support multiple Kubernetes platforms, including Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), and Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE).

Red Hat plans to open source StackRox’s technology post acquisition. The company said it will continue to support the KubeLinter community as well as new communities as Red Hat works to open source StackRox’s offerings.

The acquisition is likely to close in the first quarter of 2021.