Information security services companies TruSecure and Betrusted plan to announce on Tuesday that they have merged, forming a new company called Cybertrust.

The new company will combine risk management consulting services and products from TruSecure with security services from Betrusted, and sell both managed security services and security software, according to Brett Jackson, chief operating officer of the newly formed company.

"For customers who want us to do managed security, or outsource their security, we have that capability. Others who want to do it themselves, and we have capabilities there. We understand what good security practice is, from risk management to compliance," he said.

Cybertrust will be based in Herndon, Virginia, employ around 1,000 people globally and have annual revenue of about US$160 million, he said.

Betrusted, formerly based in New York, was a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank One's One Equity Partners, which purchased the group from PricewaterhouseCoopers in January 2003. The company provided managed security services to companies in the financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications and health-care industries, with a specialty in identity management, Jackson said.

Betrusted has also pursued an aggressive acquisitions schedule in recent months. In 2004, the company acquired an 85 percent share of publicly traded Ubizen NV, a managed security services provider based in Brussels. The company also purchased Baltimore Technologies' PKI (public key infrastructure) and Web hosting services in December.

Betrusted has also pursued an aggressive acquisitions schedule in recent months. The company in July acquired an 85 percent share of publicly traded Ubizen NV, a managed security services provider based in Brussels. The company also purchased Baltimore Technologies PLC's PKI (public key infrastructure) and Web hosting services in December.

TruSecure, based in Herndon, was also a privately-held, venture-backed company with about six investors including venture capital firm GreyLock. Details of the merger were not disclosed.

John Becker, TruSecure's chief executive officer will take over as chief executive officer of the new company, which will compete with companies such as Symantec, offering product-agnostic security consulting expertise and a support network spanning 27 countries to 2,000 companies globally, Jackson said.