Microsoft boosts cloud data security with Secure Islands acquisition

Microsoft has signed an agreement to acquire Secure Islands, a specialist in advanced information protection solutions.

Redmond said the acquisition “accelerates” its ability to help customers secure their business data “no matter where it is stored” – across on-premises systems, Microsoft cloud services like Azure and Office 365, third-party services, and “any” Windows, iOS or Android device.

Microsoft said businesses continue to face challenges protecting their data where information travels beyond the boundary of the corporate network and across many devices outside company control.

Takeshi Numoto, corporate vice president, cloud and enterprise marketing at Microsoft, said: “To work effectively, organisations must share information with partners, vendors and customers. These realities make it more critical than ever to have solutions that prevent data loss and track information regardless of where it resides.”

Based in Israel, Secure Islands provides powerful data classification, protection and loss prevention technologies for virtually any type of file, which allows customers to apply data protection to more applications. Global customers, such as UBS, OSRAM, Vodafone and Credit Suisse, use Secure Islands technology to protect data at each stage of the information lifecycle, from creation to sharing.

Secure Islands’ technology will enhance the data protection capabilities now available with the Azure Rights Management Service, Microsoft’s cloud-based information protection solution, said Numoto.

After completing the acquisition, Microsoft said it will integrate Secure Islands’ technology into the Azure Rights Management Service to “provide a flexible architecture able to meet the most rigorous protection and compliance requirements”.

The value of the acquisition has not been disclosed.

@AntonySavvas