Microsoft Corp.
agreed to buy cybersecurity provider RiskIQ Inc., the companies said Monday, a deal that would add to Microsoft’s portfolio of security services amid a surge in high-profile online attacks.
RiskIQ, based in San Francisco and founded in 2009, helps companies track their vulnerability to digital threats. That has become more important and complicated as companies shift an increasing part of their work online, both to reach customers and connect employees remotely, Microsoft’s security executive said Monday. , Eric Doerr, in a blog post about the acquisition.
For companies using cloud computing, “it is increasingly critical to understand the full scope of their assets to reduce their attack surface,” Doerr wrote.
Microsoft did not disclose the terms of the deal. Representatives for Microsoft and RiskIQ did not immediately respond to inquiries.
Internet vulnerabilities have raised growing concern this year as examples of cyberattacks with far-reaching effects proliferate. In May, the 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline, crucial to the East Coast’s energy infrastructure, was temporarily shut down by its operator after a cyberattack, causing gasoline shortages in some places.
A month later, the meat processor JBS SA
It said it was hit by a cyber attack that sent some of its beef and pork processing offline, a disruption that impacted the food supply chain.
Hospitals and municipal services have also been the victims of recent cyberattacks in the US, underscoring the threat they can pose to public safety. In a June interview with EDL, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Christopher Wray, said that cyberattacks using ransomware have proliferated rapidly and that prevention demands more attention from the public and private sectors.
“The threat landscape has never been more complex or challenging, and security has never been more critical to our customers,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a conference call with analysts in April. “This is driving increased demand for our end-to-end capabilities in the areas of identity, security, compliance and administration.”
Doerr said the addition of RiskIQ will expand Microsoft’s existing security products for business customers, including security for Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service and its 365 Defender software.
Write to Matt Grossman in [email protected]
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