According to reports, Microsoft said on Wednesday that the company will acquire network security start-up CloudKnox, which develops software designed to help companies reduce the amount of access they provide to their cloud resources.
Microsoft did not disclose the specific terms of the transaction. The transaction means that while Microsoft is working hard to ensure the security of Windows and other products, it has also taken another step in expanding its security business.
In January of this year, Microsoft said that it had generated more than $10 billion in security revenue in the past 12 months, a year-on-year increase of more than 40%, which means that the security business is growing faster than most other product areas of the company.
Just last week, Microsoft just announced the acquisition of RiskIQ, another security startup, which developed software that can detect all information technology-related threats of a particular company.
CloudKnox’s software can be used not only for Microsoft Azure public cloud services, but also compatible with Amazon and Google cloud services. The software can find and clear employee permissions and virtual identities that are not actively used, and can also display alerts about abnormal activities.
Microsoft Vice President Joy Chik explained in a blog post that with the proliferation of unmonitored cloud services (such as virtual machines, etc.), it is increasingly difficult for companies to strictly control who can use these services. He wrote: Some high-profile leaks show that criminals can use stolen privileged credentials to act quickly.
CloudKnox was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. 58 employees have registered on LinkedIn, a professional social networking site owned by Microsoft. Its investors include venture capital firm Sorenson Ventures and Dell’s Investment company DELL Technologies Capital and investment fund Foundation Capital, etc.
