Juniper Networks, one of the biggest providers of networking gear and software behind Cisco, announced it has acquired Mykonos Software for about $80 million in cash. Mykonos offers an Intrusion Deception System designed to protect web-based applications “among the largest unprotected attack surfaces,” according to Juniper research.

The technology is rather self-explanatory: hackers that attempt to gain access to a customer’s website are greeted with false trails and misleading data, which makes the whole process much more tedious on the hacker end. Mykonos takes this to another level by featuring measures such as device-level tracking and identification of cyber-rogues.

“Mykonos’ groundbreaking deception-based technology can actively prevent attackers and stop even the most sophisticated zero-day web attacks. It is the only company that can catch an attack in progress, profile the attack, learn the attacker’s behavior, and then use that behavior to thwart future attacks.”

Juniper will be deeply integrating this latest investment into its portfolio, encompassing both the network and the cloud. The networking market is constantly evolving, driven by trends such as virtualization and big data, and the company is on a race to keep up – and gain a lead – on the competition. This is especially true in light of Juniper’s sluggish performance in its latest fiscal quarter.

All this can also be said of Cisco as well, which has also been making efforts to secure its position in the market. Its latest initiatives encompass a new product line, and some good old negative marketing.

Last month Cisco introduced the Linksys HomePlug AV Powerline family of wireless consumer adapters, developed with the intention of bringing “plug-and-play” connectivity to more sealed-off sections of a household. And earlier this month, Cisco decided to rub it in for Juniper and released an official statement by an exec criticizing the latter’s customer service.