Big IT companies continue to buy cyber startups to add new technology to address their and their customers’ growing security risks. For example, according to TechCrunch, IBM has acquired Polar Security. This Israeli startup developed a platform for “data security posture management”—that is, technology to audit and track cloud data flow and access within a company’s network.
TechCrunch said that IBM will announce the $60 million acquisition of the startup this week, potentially today. Tech12.co.il also reports the pricing. We’ve contacted both companies to confirm these details.
Polar emerged from stealth a year ago with $8.5 million from Gilot, IBI, and others. The company was formed by cybersecurity vets Dov Yoran (chairman), Guy Shanny (CEO), and Roey Yaacovi (CTO). It’s unclear which of them, or how many employees, will be acquired, or who its customers are. Two co-founders worked in cybersecurity for the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, and one case study used Ocrolus.
Polar is not selling due to runway, and Datadog was interested in acquiring it. Coincidentally, Datadog has also been mentioned as a potential acquirer of Laminar, an Israeli cybersecurity startup focused on posture management, reportedly being acquired for $200 million to $250 million (Calcalist also lists Rubrik as a potential buyer).
Cloud services have introduced a new level of data complexity, including identifying and tracking the many places data is stored, how and where it is used, who can access it, how this might change with new services, and how all of this works in compliance with a variety of regulations that vary by country. Laminar, CrowdStrike, Checkpoint, Zscaler, and Polar are among the startups developing technologies to address the issue.
In February, Zscaler purchased another firm, Canonic, to focus on supply chains. Cisco purchased Valtix for multi-cloud observability in the same month. Finally, Palo Alto Networks bought Cider Security in November to increase cloud application observability.
IBM has extensive security holdings in software, managed security, and consulting, and it has made several security acquisitions to build that out. However, whether this acquisition is for internal purposes or to expand its security portfolio is unclear.