Highlights:

  • CrowdStrike is one of the largest cybersecurity providers globally, protecting over 30,000 organizations’ cloud environments, devices, and assets from cyberattacks.
  • Adaptive Shield prioritizes cybersecurity risks by severity and offers remediation suggestions to assist administrators in tackling the most critical issues.

Recently, CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. planning to acquire Adaptive Shield Ltd., a startup focused on assisting companies in safeguarding their data within cloud applications.

The financial details of the deal were not revealed. However, sources reported that the transaction is valued at USD 300 million, over six times the amount Adaptive Shield has raised from investors. The company is backed by firms such as Blackstone and Insight Partners.

CrowdStrike is one of the largest cybersecurity providers globally, serving over 30,000 organizations. Its software protects cloud environments, employee devices, and other assets from cyberattacks. Last quarter, CrowdStrike’s customers spent USD 963.9 million on its products, a 32% increase compared to the same period last year.

Adaptive Shield, based in Tel Aviv, offers a cybersecurity platform designed to protect software-as-a-service applications. The platform scans these applications for vulnerabilities, misconfigured accounts, and malicious activity, while also providing administrators with recommendations on how to resolve any issues it detects.

Workers frequently access cloud applications using their Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 accounts. During the sign-up process, an application may gain access to files linked to a worker’s account, potentially creating cybersecurity risks. Adaptive Shield asserts that its platform automates the detection of these risks, allowing administrators to save time.

The platform can also identify various other cybersecurity concerns. It detects when a company fails to enable an application’s malware detection features or uses weak passwords. Additionally, Adaptive Shield uncovers more subtle issues, such as employee accounts having access to more data than necessary.

The platform features a breach detection engine that monitors attempts by hackers to access a company’s cloud applications. Upon detecting malicious activity, Adaptive Shield provides a summary of the breach tactics employed by the attackers. It identifies these tactics using information from MITRE ATT and CK, a database of hacking techniques commonly referenced by cybersecurity professionals during threat investigations.

To assist customers in addressing the most critical issues first, Adaptive Shield prioritizes the cybersecurity risks it identifies based on severity. It also provides remediation suggestions to guide administrators through the breach response process.

Beyond cloud applications, Adaptive Shield’s risk detection engine also examines the devices employees use to access these applications. The software detects when a worker tries to log into a service from an insecure computer or mobile device. It can verify whether the device is managed by the IT team and check if it is running software with known vulnerabilities.

CrowdStrike Chief Executive Officer George Kurtz, said “As SaaS and AI adoption grows, every new application brings additional complexity and the risk of misconfigurations across human and non-human accounts that create openings for sophisticated attacks.”

Adaptive Shield leverages CrowdStrike’s flagship Falcon cybersecurity platform to support certain device security features. Specifically, it uses the software to identify which employee is using which endpoint and to detect vulnerable systems. This existing integration should make it easier to incorporate Adaptive Shield into CrowdStrike’s product portfolio.