Okta Acquires Access Control Startup ScaleFT
19.7.18 securityweek  IT   

Enterprise identity management firm Okta this week announced that it has acquired ScaleFT, a company that offers a Zero Trust access control platform.

Okta provides a Single Sign-On (SSO) solution to help customers efficiently manage user accounts across the enterprise and eliminate passwords while simplifying access. With Multi-factor Authentication (MFA), it provides strong authentication various services, with over 5,500 pre-built integrations to applications and infrastructure providers.

Okta Logo

Founded in 2015, ScaleFT’s access management platform was inspired by Google’s BeyondCorp security model, which provides remote access without the use of a VPN (virtual private network).

With this acquisition, publicly traded Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA), which already helps over 4,700 organizations both secure and manage their extended enterprise, plans to bring Zero Trust to corporations with a framework to protect sensitive data without compromising on experience.

By combining ScaleFT’s Zero Trust platform with its own Identity Cloud, Okta aims to help organizations easily validate users, devices, application and network information while also securing access to data from cloud to ground.

“Companies have realized they can no longer trust their network and have to understand device security — instead of trusting everyone behind a firewall, now IT and security leaders must trust no one, inside or outside the organization,” Frederic Kerrest, Chief Operating Officer and co-founder, Okta, said.

“To help our customers increase security while also meeting the demands of the modern workforce, we’re acquiring ScaleFT to further our contextual access management vision — and ensure the right people get access to the right resources for the shortest amount of time,” Kerrest continued.

The Zero Trust security paradigm requires organizations to move away from the traditional approach of perimeter-based security that included static credentials and access controls, and to focus on adaptive and context-aware controls instead, for making continuous access decisions.

Following the acquisition, ScaleFT CEO and co-founder Jason Luce will manage the transition, while CTO and co-founder Paul Querna will lead strategy and execution of Okta's Zero Trust architecture. Marc Rogers, CSO, will join Okta as Executive Director, Cybersecurity Strategy.