News

Microsoft To Buy Mobile Security Company PhoneFactor

Microsoft is acquiring PhoneFactor, a provider of mobile-based authentication solutions, the two companies announced on Thursday.

PhoneFactor provides two-factor authentication for mobile devices. Besides a username and password, PhoneFactor gives users three choices for authenticating their log-in:

  • a confirmation phone call made to the user's mobile phone
  • a text message with a passcode sent to the user
  • using PhoneFactor's mobile app, a push notification sent to the user when a log-in attempt is initiated

Microsoft is already using PhoneFactor's technology in Active Directory, Internet Information Services and Outlook Web Access. The company said it plans to integrate PhoneFactor's service across its whole product line.

"The acquisition of PhoneFactor will help Microsoft bring effective and easy-to-use multifactor authentication to our cloud services and on-premises applications," said Bharat Shah, corporate vice president, Server and Tools Division for Microsoft. "In addition, PhoneFactor's solutions will help Microsoft customers, partners and developers enhance the security of almost any authentication scenario."

Current PhoneFactor customers will not see a change in their services, and new customers can still purchase the company's authentication services directly from them, according to a company FAQ.

PhoneFactor CEO Timothy Sutton commented that the acquisition is a positive for the small company, as it provides PhoneFactor the means to extend its services to a wider audience.

"With Microsoft's product breadth and distribution reach, it will be possible to bring the benefits of PhoneFactor to a broader set of customers, partners and developers than we could as a stand-alone company," Sutton wrote in a blog post. "And as part of Microsoft, we will work to improve the interoperability and ease of use of our solutions -- but more to come on that in the future."

Specific details of the acquisition have not been disclosed by either company.

About the Author

Chris Paoli (@ChrisPaoli5) is the associate editor for Converge360.

Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.