IBM Acquires Polar Security for $60 Million to Secure Sensitive "Shadow Data"

IBM revealed the acquisition of Polar Security, a pioneer in data cyber security posture management (DSPM) technology. The deal is estimated at $60 million according to sources at TechCrunch. This acquisition marks IBM's 15th acquisition in Israel and is part of the company's ongoing efforts to enhance its hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence capabilities.

As cloud adoption surged during the pandemic, a new "shadow data" threat emerged for enterprises - sensitive data that is not adequately tracked or managed. Polar Security, founded in January 2021, addresses this issue by offering an agentless platform that quickly identifies and classifies sensitive data across various cloud environments, SaaS applications, and data lakes.

The acquisition will see Polar Security integrated into IBM's Guardium unit, enhancing the company's capabilities in auditing and tracking cloud data flows. This move highlights the growing trend of larger tech companies acquiring innovative cybersecurity startups to address the escalating security vulnerabilities faced by organizations.

Polar Security's technology enables organizations to discover unknown and sensitive data, map data flow, and identify vulnerabilities related to security policies, configurations, and data usage. By employing a risk-based prioritization approach, Polar Security provides actionable remediation reports, highlighting the most critical security risks and compliance violations, along with practical recommendations to address them.

The acquisition marks the 15th startup acquisition in Israel by IBM, most recently succeeding the acquisition of Databand.ai, reflecting the company's continued investment in the region's tech ecosystem, with a focus on AI, Automation, Cloud, and IT.