CrowdStrike eyes SaaS security gains with Adaptive Shield acquisition

CrowdStrike has announced an agreement to acquire Israeli SaaS security startup Adaptive Shield to bolster the capabilities of its Falcon cybersecurity platform.

Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Adaptive Shield protects against SaaS breaches through security posture management and threat protection across SaaS identities, misconfigurations, and data.

Announcing the move at its Fal.Con Europe event in Amsterdam, CrowdStrike said it will integrate Adaptive Shield’s capabilities into its Falcon platform to provide unified, end-to-end protection against identity-based attacks across the entire modern cloud ecosystem.

The firm said the acquisition is expected to close during its fiscal fourth quarter and, while financial terms of the buy were not disclosed, reports suggest the deal could be worth $300 million.

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said the addition of Adaptive Shield furthers the company’s mission to help customers stay ahead of modern security threats.

“As SaaS and AI adoption grows, every new application brings additional complexity and the risk of misconfigurations across human and non-human accounts that create openings for sophisticated attacks,” he explained.

“With the acquisition of Adaptive Shield, CrowdStrike will continue to set the standard for identity-based protection in the cloud, delivering best-in-class SaaS protection from the Falcon platform.”

CrowdStrike eyes ‘comprehensive security’ offering

Post integration, CrowdStrike customers will be able to leverage a range of new capabilities, including comprehensive SaaS security posture management (SSPM) that offers full visibility and governance over misconfigurations, identities, and exposed data across more than 150 SaaS applications.

Adaptive Shield also provides continuous monitoring of generative AI applications alongside a host of capabilities that allow organizations to enforce consistent security standards.

Additionally, the CrowdStrike said the combination of Adaptive Shield and its own Falcon Identity Protection will deliver comprehensive and unified identity protection across SaaS, on-premises active directory, as well as cloud-based environments, alongside speedy detection and response across multiple security domains.

Commenting on the acquisition, Adaptive Shield’s CEO and co-founder, Maor Bin, said the uptick in SaaS adoption has made these environments a key focus for attackers.

“Widespread adoption of SaaS applications has rapidly expanded the enterprise attack surface, as shared responsibility models and fragmented security controls make SaaS environments a prime target,” he commented.

“Our mission perfectly complements CrowdStrike, stopping SaaS breaches while further accelerating consolidation on cyber security’s most comprehensive platform. I’m incredibly proud of our team for building the most advanced SaaS security solution, defining the market.”