Microsoft Buys RiskIQ

Microsoft is buying RiskIQ a San Francisco-based cyber security firm that offers threat intelligence and cloud-based software for companies. 

Microsoft have not said how much they are paying for the business although it has been suggested that they will pay more than $500 million in cash for the company.

RiskIQ 's cyber security programs are used by 30% of Fortune 500 and more than 6,000 total organisations across the world, including the US Postal Service, BMW, Facebook and American Express. 

The announcement comes as cyber security becomes even more focused and organisations shift to remote and hybrid working strategies. Cyber security is now very high on executives action strategies because of the recent ransomware attacks that has temporarily taken down a number of companies at great cost to them.

RiskIQ scours the web, mapping out details about websites and networks, domain name records, certificates and other information, providing customers visibility into what assets, devices and services can be accessed outside of a company’s firewall.  This helps organisations to lock down their assets and limit their attack surface from malicious actors. 

Microsoft says that by embedding RiskIQ’s technologies into its core products, its customers will be able to build a more comprehensive view of the global threats to their businesses as workforces continue to work outside of the traditional office environment. 

Eric Doerr, vice president of cloud security at Microsoft, said: “RiskIQ helps customers discover and assess the security of their entire enterprise attack surface, in the Microsoft cloud, AWS, other clouds, on-premises, and from their supply chain...   With more than a decade of experience scanning and analysing the internet, RiskIQ can help enterprises identify and remediate vulnerable assets before an attacker can capitalise on them.” 

Doerr said in a blog that they were acquiring the company to help customers "build a more comprehensive view of the global threats to their businesses, better understand vulnerable internet-facing assets, and build world-class threat intelligence."

RiskIQ was founded in 2009 and has raised a total of $83 million over four rounds of funding. Elias Manousos, who co-founded RiskIQ and serves as its chief executive, said he was “thrilled” at the acquisition. 

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