Microsoft is reported to be buying the Israeli cybersecurity firm Adallom, in only the latest collaboration between the US and Israeli on online security matters.
The deal is thought to be worth some $320m (£205m), according to the financial newspaper Calcalist, and could place Adallom’s security for software-as-a-service products at the centre of Microsoft’s cybersecurity business.
At present neither Microsoft nor Adallom have confirmed or denied the reports, after requests for comment from CBR.
Should it go ahead the purchase will follow similar investments by Microsoft in Israel’s burgeoning cybersecurity business, which exports $6bn worth of products and services, a greater amount than the country’s exports of military hardware.
Last autumn Microsoft paid a reported $200m for the Israeli cybersecurity company Aorato, which specialises in the use of machine learning to monitor employee behaviour on corporate networks.
The Adallom deal also comes after the US and Israel also signed a statement last week committing the two countries to cooperation in cybersecurity, in a scheme that will include intelligence sharing and research within the field.
Adallom already has several noted partners in its security business, Dropbox having become the latest in June as it entered an arrangement with the security company to secure its business storage platform.
Other key partners include Salesforce, Amazon Web Services and Google, as well as Microsoft’s Office cloud service.
