Microsoft signs accord to buy cyber firm Hexadite

Terms undisclosed, but May report said US giant would pay $100 million for the 3-year old US-Israeli cybersecurity firm

By Shoshanna Solomon

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8 June 2017, 7:27 pm

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Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter

This July 3, 2014 photo shows the Microsoft Corp. logo outside the Microsoft Visitor Center in Redmond, Washington. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren/File)

US giant Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it has acquired US-Israeli cybersecurity startup Hexadite, whose technology allows automatic investigation and response to cyberattacks, for an undisclosed amount.

In May, financial website Calcalist said Microsoft would pay $100 million for Hexadite.

The acquisition will enable Microsoft to strengthen its Advanced Threat Protection, “making response and remediation faster and more effective,” Microsoft said in a statement.

“Our vision is to deliver a new generation of security capabilities that helps our customers protect, detect and respond to the constantly evolving and ever-changing cyberthreat landscape,” said Terry Myerson, executive vice president, Windows and Devices Group, Microsoft. “Hexadite’s technology and talent will augment our existing capabilities and enable our ability to add new tools and services to Microsoft’s robust enterprise security offerings.”

Hexadite has developed software that uses artificial intelligence to integrate with existing security detection tools, like the firewalls and cyber alert systems of Check Point Software Technologies and Kaspersky Lab, to investigate and follow up on every alert, a time-consuming process for information security professionals and analysts.

Modeled on the logic and processes used by “top cyber analysts” and driven by artificial intelligence, Hexadite’s software “investigates every alert in seconds,” the startup’s website says. Algorithms are used to inspect every threat and act on the ones that need action, Hexadite’s website says.

Hexadite headquarters are based in Boston, with a team of researchers in Tel Aviv. Following the close of the deal and after a period of integration, Hexadite will be fully absorbed into Microsoft as part of the Windows and Devices Group, the statement said.

Hexadite was set up in 2014 by three founders: Eran Barak, the CEO, Barak Klinghofer and Idan Levin. All three of them served in elite intelligence units of the Israeli army and worked for the defense electronics firm Elbit Systems Ltd. Investors in the company include YL Ventures, Ten Eleven Ventures and Hewlett Packard Ventures, according to the Hexadite website.