IBM today announced that it has acquired CrossIdeas, a privately held provider of Access Governance software that helps organizations manage user access to applications and data across on-premise and cloud environments.
With this acquisition, IBM is adding advanced analytics capabilities to its portfolio of software designed to manage how access to applications and data is secured, an IBM spokesperson told SecurityWeek.
Founded in 2011 and based in Rome, Italy, CrossIdeas’s technology helps organizations meet compliance, audit and access risk management requirements.
According to IBM, CrossIdeas will be integrated into IBM’s Identity and Access Management portfolio and will help customers initiate access governance capabilities with minimal changes to their existing environment.
“IBM can now provide enterprises with enhanced governance capabilities and transparency into risk from the factory floor to the board room, giving leaders the insight they need to protect their brand and customers,” Brendan Hannigan, General Manager, IBM Security Systems, said in a statement.
IBM provided an example of how CrossIdeas’ technology could be used to detect what should be a security policy violation before it becomes a security risk.
“For example, a stock trader working in a financial institution may be promoted and given access to approve trades in a new system while retaining access to enter trades in the previous system,” IBM explained. “This dual access may constitute a segregation of duties violation, which could expose the institution to failing a compliance requirement. With CrossIdeas’ technology, auditors and managers could detect and remediate the segregation of duties violation before it becomes a security risk and audit exposure.”
“CrossIdeas is very excited to become part of IBM through this acquisition,” said Alberto Ocello, Chief Executive Officer at CrossIdeas. “The innovative technology of CrossIdeas’ IDEAS solution strongly complements IBM’s Identity and Access Management portfolio and we are proud to contribute to IBM’s worldwide expansion in the IT security market.”
IBM has made more than a dozen acquisitions in security over the past decade and has had double-digit revenue growth for six consecutive quarters, with the company holding the #4 spot in the overall security software market in 2013, according to IDC.
Financial terms of the CrossIdeas acquisition were not disclosed.

For more than 10 years, Mike Lennon has been closely monitoring the threat landscape and analyzing trends in the National Security and enterprise cybersecurity space. In his role at SecurityWeek, he oversees the editorial direction of the publication and is the Director of several leading security industry conferences around the world.
More from Mike Lennon
- Watch Now: Threat Detection and Incident Response Virtual Summit
- Registration Now Open: 2023 ICS Cybersecurity Conference | Atlanta
- NetRise Adds $8 Million in Funding to Grow XIoT Security Platform
- Virtual Event Today: Zero Trust Strategies Summit
- Virtual Event Tomorrow: Zero Trust Strategies Summit
- Watch: How to Build Resilience Against Emerging Cyber Threats
- Video: How to Build Resilience Against Emerging Cyber Threats
- Webinar Today: Understanding Hidden Third-Party Identity Access Risks
Latest News
- Insider Q&A: Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity In Military Tech
- In Other News: Government Use of Spyware, New Industrial Security Tools, Japan Router Hack
- OpenAI Unveils Million-Dollar Cybersecurity Grant Program
- Galvanick Banks $10 Million for Industrial XDR Technology
- Information of 2.5M People Stolen in Ransomware Attack at Massachusetts Health Insurer
- US, South Korea Detail North Korea’s Social Engineering Techniques
- High-Severity Vulnerabilities Patched in Splunk Enterprise
- Idaho Hospitals Working to Resume Full Operations After Cyberattack
