Translated by Lena Bloch
By buying an Israeli startup, Google is strengthening its presence in the global cyber security market. With a press release issued on January 4, the transnational IT company headquartered in the USA has announced the acquisition of Siemplify, a leading data management and analysis company and SOAR (security orchestration, automation and response) provider, headquartered in Ramat Gan, a city on the eastern outskirts of Tel Aviv. Google reportedly spent no less than $500 million on the deal.
“Siemplify shares our vision in the cybersecurity space and with Google Cloud's specialized team will help companies better manage their threat response,” the transnational's management explains. Specifically, the Israeli start-up's applications will be made available to the Google Cloud Platform, the suite of “cloud computing” services that Google uses for its best-known products, such as the eponymous search engine, Gmail, Google Drive and the YouTube channel.
“In a time when cyberattacks are rapidly growing in both frequency and sophistication, there’s never been a better time to bring these two companies together,” adds the Google Cloud press office. “With Siemplify we will change the rules on how organizations hunt, detect and respond to threats. Siemplify's platform enables Security Operation Center analysts to manage responses with speed and accuracy and will be integrated into Google Cloud's Chronicle cybersecurity group. Its proven SOAR capability combined with Chronicle's innovative approach will be an important step in improving the tools available to the cyber security industry.”
Siemplify founders: from l. to r. Alon Cohen, Amos Stern and Garry Fatakhov. Photo: Siemplify
Siemplify was founded in 2015 and major customers include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, McAfee, Cisco and some of Israel's leading security companies and start-ups. Co-founder and CEO is Amos Stern, formerly an analyst in the intelligence department of the Israeli Defense Forces, then sales manager of the Cyber & Intelligence division of Elbit Ltd, one of the largest companies in Israel's military-industrial complex. Similar is the professional resume of Siemplify's other co-founder and CEO, Alon Cohen.