News
Microsoft Acquires Another Cloud Security Company
- By Chris Paoli
- November 09, 2015
Microsoft is acquiring Secure Islands Technology Ltd., an Israel-based provider of solutions to protect enterprise cloud data.
The deal, announced on Monday, marks the fifth acquisition this year by Microsoft of an Israeli security firm. Most recently, Microsoft purchased Adallom in early September for a reported $250 million.
Terms of the Secure Islands buy were not disclosed, but reports speculate that it will cost Microsoft somewhere between $100 and $150 million. It is expected to be finalized in 2016, pending regulatory approval.
Founded in late 2006 by brothers Aki and Yuval Eldar, Secure Islands specializes in what it calls Information Protection and Control (IPC) solutions. It promises data immunization by automatically generating protection methods at the moment data is created, allowing for it to be secured on-premises, in transit and when stored in the cloud.
Microsoft said in a blog post announcing the acquisition that it will use Secure Islands' technology to strengthen security in its own cloud offerings.
"After completing this acquisition, we will integrate Secure Islands' technology into Azure Rights Management Service to provide a flexible architecture able to meet the most rigorous protection and compliance requirements," wrote Takeshi Numoto, Microsoft's corporate vice president for the Cloud and Enterprise Marketing group. "These new capabilities, combined with the data classification in Windows and Office 365, will provide our customers with the industry's most comprehensive data protection solution."
Aki Eldar, current Secure Islands CEO, said in a blog post on his company's Web site that the Microsoft acquisition will help further adoption of its cloud-based intelligence and security solutions.
"By joining Microsoft, we will be able to extend and expand our vision. Microsoft has been a long time partner and its leadership in enterprise IT, its resources and global reach will help us innovate and deliver new information protection capabilities to both our current and new customer base," wrote Eldar.