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Okta said the acquisition will broaden its identity threat detection and security posture management capabilities for customers.
Identity management giant Okta has confirmed it is acquiring Israel-based cybersecurity start-up Spera to expand its current capabilities.
The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, but Calcalist reports that Okta is paying between $100m to $130m, with the final purchase amount being linked to meeting milestones and payments to company staff.
Spera says its focus is on tackling identity-based attacks and that it provides a one-stop-shop platform to help security teams see and understand their complete identity attack surface. The company managed to raise $10m in a funding round earlier this year.
Okta said identity breaches are the main attack vector that threatens organisations and that most breaches stem from phishing attacks and “other forms of credential abuse”. The company suffered its own data breach at the end of September, after a hacker used stolen employee credentials to access its customer support system.
Okta said it is acquiring Spera to broaden its identity threat detection and security posture management capabilities. Arnab Bose, the chief product officer of Okta’s Workforce Identity Cloud, said identity threat detection and response (ITDR) is a “critical practice for identity security”.
“Spera Security builds on Okta’s existing ITDR capabilities with a focus on security posture management and attack surface management,” Bose said. “With Spera Security, we will equip our customers with richer insights and technology to elevate their identity security posture management, and quickly identify, detect and remediate risks.”
Bose said Spera’s products will build on Okta’s current ITDR capabilities by allowing customers to “better assess” the security posture of their identity infrastructure.
“We remain committed to equipping our customers with the tools and knowledge needed in an increasingly challenging environment, and we’re excited about how Spera Security can amplify our ITDR work to deliver more secure outcomes for our customers,” Bose said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome the Spera Security team to Okta when the transaction closes and look forward to the many opportunities ahead.”
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