The Biggest IAM News Items During the First Half of 2021

Our editors curated this list of the biggest IAM news items during the first half of 2021, as highlighted on Solutions Review.

Cybersecurity is one of the most critical industries in the modern digital age, rapidly growing as more organizations release their own needs to defend against threat actors. The proliferation of cyber-attacks only continues to grow as well, with several high-profile ransomware attacks and data breaches serving as wake-up calls to businesses. Further, evidence suggests that customers abandon companies that suffer from data breaches en masse, as they no longer feel their data is safe with breached companies. 

Part of Solutions Review’s ongoing analysis of the cybersecurity marketplace includes covering the biggest IAM news stories which have the greatest impact on enterprise technologists. This is a curated list of the most important cybersecurity IAM stories from the first half of 2021. For more on the space, including the newest product releases, funding rounds and mergers and acquisitions, follow our popular news section.

The Biggest IAM News Items During the First Half of 2021

Okta Acquires Auth0 In $6.5 Billion Deal (March)

Okta announced its intention to acquire Auth0; the deal will take place through a stock transaction valued at approximately $6.5 billion. The deal should close during Okta’s second quarter of fiscal year 2022.

Todd McKinnon, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Okta gave a statement with the announcement. “In an increasingly digital world, identity is the unifying means by which we use technology — both at work and in our personal lives. With so much at stake for businesses today, it’s critical that we deliver trusted customer-facing identity solutions. Okta’s and Auth0’s shared vision for the identity market, rooted in customer success, will accelerate our innovation, opening up new ways for our customers to leverage identity to meet their business needs. We are thrilled to join forces with the Auth0 team, as they are ideal allies in building identity for the internet and establishing identity as a primary cloud.”

Jumio Secures $150 Million Investment For Automation, Innovation (March)

Jumio announced securing $150 million through an investment from private equity firm Great Hill Partners. The investment represents one of the largest funding rounds in the digital identity security marketplace.

According to a press release, Jumio plans to use the investment by “devoting additional resources to automate its identity verification solutions, expand[ing] the breadth of the Jumio KYX Platform and grow[ing] its suite of AML compliance services.” The investment could also represent a turning point for the identity security market in general, given its size and significance.

Thycotic and Centrify Merge into ThycoticCentrify (April)

Thycotic and Centrify announced completing a previously-announced merger between the two privileged access management providers. Operating under the temporary name ThycoticCentrify, the new company is beginning its product and capability integrations as part of its goal to provide an extensive platform in cloud privileged identity security.

The new cybersecurity provider expects to debut a new brand in the second half of 2021. A press release describing the finalization of the merger notes the focus on deployment speed and PAM-as-a-Service offerings as it looks to carve a new identity for itself in the market; it especially focuses on the challenges to privileged users in the cloud, exacerbated by the pandemic and mass work-from-home policies.

What is Going on with Ubiquiti? Alleged Data Breach Cover-Up (April)

On January 11 Ubiquiti disclosed unauthorized access to certain networks hosted by an unnamed third-party cloud provider. It encouraged users to change their passwords and deploy multifactor authentication. In that original message, Ubiquiti claimed it had no evidence of user data being exposed, but did not rule out the possibility.

However, Brian Krebs from KrebsonSecurity.com reports receiving contact from an individual claiming to have participated in the Ubiquiti breach response. This individual, referred to as “Adam” to protect their identity, claimed the actual extent of the breach was “catastrophic,” and that Ubiquiti had actually downplayed its severity in its original disclosure. Further, the implication that the breach occurred due to the third-party cloud provider was a lie.

Those are our picks for the biggest IAM news items during the first half of 2021. For more on Solutions Review’s market analysis, check out the IAM Buyer’s Guide and the Suggestion Engine.