IBM, a global technology giant, has announced its strategic move to acquire Polar Security, a leading firm specializing in data security posture management (DSPM). The financial details of this acquisition remain undisclosed.
Why Polar Security?
IBM’s security division already boasts a diverse set of capabilities. However, the addition of Polar Security fills a gap in their offerings, specifically in the DSPM domain. DSPM, a relatively new but rapidly growing technology sector, focuses on addressing the challenges of data security in cloud environments.
Eric Maass, IBM Security’s Director of Data Security Product Management, shared his insights. He highlighted the increasing attention DSPM has garnered from both customers and investors. The primary reason? Its pivotal role in securing sensitive and often overlooked “shadow data” in the cloud. Maass emphasized that this acquisition positions IBM at the forefront of major security providers venturing into the DSPM space.
Understanding DSPM
While traditional cloud security posture management (CSPM) centers on cloud infrastructure and compute workloads, DSPM delves deeper. It zeroes in on risks associated with data, starting from its discovery.
Maass provided clarity on the distinction. For instance, while a CSPM solution might flag changes in a Kubernetes configuration file, a DSPM tool would identify data within that workload. It would then alert users to potential vulnerabilities that could compromise the data.
DSPM’s primary goal is to discover “shadow data” – data that organizations might not even know they have. In today’s expansive cloud landscape, data is virtually everywhere. This ubiquity presents a challenge for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs). How do you protect data you’re unaware of? DSPM aids in identifying such data, whether it’s in traditional data stores, middleware services, or popular SaaS applications like Slack and Office 365.
Once this data is unearthed and categorized, the next step is understanding access. Who can access this data? Who has accessed it? DSPM tools, like those from Polar Security, scrutinize access entitlements and audit logs. This provides a clear picture of potential and actual data access events.
Furthermore, DSPM assists organizations in managing their data’s posture. It ensures configurations align with set rules and policies, identifying any deviations or policy breaches.
Polar Security’s Role in IBM’s Portfolio
Polar Security’s DSPM prowess complements IBM’s existing Guardium data security offerings. While Guardium excels in areas like data activity monitoring and compliance, it faced challenges in managing the burgeoning volume of cloud and SaaS data. Polar Security addresses this concern, ensuring a more holistic data security approach for IBM’s clientele.
