Israeli startup Wiz has announced the launch of a new technology for data security in the cloud. The technology – professionally called DSPM (Data Security Posture Management) – enables the identification, classification and implementation of security policies for organizations that store data in public clouds. Wiz will integrate it into its existing cloud security product, and not as a separate product.
Wiz’s announcement is especially interesting since DSPM is one of the most crowded fields in Israeli tech today. In the past two years, no fewer than seven Israeli startups that develop DSPM solutions. Together, these companies have raised over $220 million from the top investors in the market. The most famous of the Israeli entrepreneurs in cloud data security is Asaf Kochan, who was until recently commander of the elite IDF unit 8200, and is cofounder and CEO of Sentra.
The list of startups includes Laminar, founded in August 2020, which has raised $67 million; Cyera, founded in December 2020, which has raised $61 million; Dig Security, founded in September 2021, which has raised $45 million; Sentra, founded in July 2021, which has raised $23M; Flow Security, founded in December 2020, which has raised $10 million; Polar Security, founded in November 2020, which raised $8.5 million; and Eureka Security, which was founded in October 2021 and has raised $8 million.
In addition, there is the Israeli-US unicorn BigID, which has raised $250 million to date. BigID has emerged from the field of privacy security policies and now helps organizations meet regulatory requirements for data security. Recently BigID moved into the cybersecurity field and launched its own DSPM product.
Market penetration of less than 1%
Wiz was founded in 2020 by Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak, Yinon Costica and Roy Reznik. The four already have a major exit behind them, selling Adallom to Microsoft in 2015 for $320 million. After the acquisition, they continued to work at Microsoft, and Rappaport was appointed CEO of Microsoft Israel R&D. In October 2021, Wiz announced its most recent financing round, at a valuation of $6 billion, and last August it announced that it had reached an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $100 million.
Wiz, which has evolved from a field called CSPM (Cloud Security Posture Management). CSPM – in which another Israeli unicorn, Orca Security, operates – does not protect organizations from cyberattacks in real time, but attempts to identify and issue warnings ahead of potential infiltration into organizations’ cloud systems. Such infiltrations can result from weak passwords, exposed servers, misconfigurations, code errors, missing software updates and more. Each of these can become a breach that will make it easier for a hacker to penetrate the organization’s systems in the cloud.
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DSPM attempts to perform a similar preventive activity, but focused on data, in a way that will add another layer of protection for what in most cases is the most vulnerable assets for organizations. The field aims at automating currently manual processes, primarily by identifying where critical information – such as customers’ financial and personal information or commercial secrets – is stored in the cloud.
The field of identifying and protecting information in the cloud is relatively new, emerging only in recent years. According to a report by research firm Gartner, which identified the field as a category on the rise, less than 1% of companies around the world use a DSPM solution. Despite this, those in the field are convinced that in the future it will generate tens of billions of dollars and become a must-have product for any self-respecting organization.
A separate product or a platform?
Wiz believes that customers will prefer to purchase a unified CSPM and DSPM solution, rather than each separately. Wiz’s entry into the new field is part of the process of forming platforms in the cloud security market, which will offer a range of tools and measures in one product. On the other hand, start-ups developing independent DSPM solutions may claim that customers prefer the best product, even if it is sold separately.
Wiz VP product strategy Raaz Herzberg says the combination of CSPM and DSPM gives Wiz increased strength. “Our advantage is the ability to combine the analysis of sensitive information with the mapping we do of the entire environment. This intersection helps us give a complete picture of the risks in the cloud and to understand when the risk is immediate and requires action, as when sensitive data is involved and when the risk is secondary. This current development stems from the requests of many customers,” she says.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on November 22, 2022.
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