IBM purchases Israeli cybersecurity company

IBM announced its purchase of Trusteer, a company that helps protect organizations against security breaches. 

International Business Machines purchased the Israeli cybersecurity company, Trusteer, helping IBM add another layer against hackers.

As part of the transaction, IBM is opening a software lab in Israel that will focus on mitigating security threats in software. The lab will bring in more than 200 Trusteer and IBM researchers and developers, according to IBM’s press release.

IBM did not disclose how much Trusteer cost, but Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist puts the cost at more than $800 million, according to Tech Crunch.

“The way organizations protect data is quickly evolving,” says Trusteer’s chief executive officer Mickey Boodaei in IBM’s press release. “Trusteer has helped.”

Seven of the top 10 US banks currently use Trusteer software to secure accounts against fraud and cyberattacks.

This Thursday statement comes the day after IBM announced its cloud-computing contract deal with the US Department of the Interior, which will be able to tap into IBM’s Smart Cloud for government, hosted at the IBM Federal Data Center. The deal was valued at $1 billion, and provided IBM with a confidence boost after it lost a $600 million contract to build a private cloud for the CIA to Amazon. 

Cloud storage systems have come under increased scrutiny after the National Security Agency (NSA) leaks, which raised concerns that the federal government has access to the troves of information stored on cloud services.

A report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation estimated that the US government’s surveillance program will impede the growth of investment in US cloud computing providers. US cloud companies stand to lose $22 billion to $35 billion over the next three years as a result of recent revelations about the NSA’s electronic surveillance program, according to the report.