Mimecast acquires Ataata to eradicate the human weak link in security
Mimecast has announced the acquisition of cybersecurity training firm Ataata.
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On Tuesday, Mimecast said the agreement will lay the groundwork for the "most effective cybersecurity awareness training program imaginable" through combining training, education, and data analysis.
'The acquisition will allow customers to measure cyber risk training effectiveness by converting behavior observations into actionable risk metrics for security professionals," Mimecast says. "The addition of security awareness training and risk scoring and analysis strengthens Mimecast's cyber resilience for email capabilities."
Financial details were not disclosed.
According to the email and data security firm, the agreement will result in the creation of a single cloud-based platform which will calculate an employee's potential risk and susceptibility to today's cybersecurity threats -- such as phishing campaigns, failing to recognize malicious websites, and more.
These risk factors will be calculated by both monitoring and analyzing an employee's "sentiment" and behavior. Once a score is issued, staff members can then be given training based on their score to lower the risk of corporate cyberattacks.
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Ataata's remote training modules are sent to employees once a month and focus on critical areas of improvement -- which will hopefully, over time, not only be easy to digest but also lower the trainee's risk score.
"Human error is involved in the majority of all security breaches, and these casual mistakes can cost organizations money, their reputation - and employees, potentially their job," said Michael Madon, CEO, and co-founder of Ataata. "Organizations need to understand that employees are their last line of defense. Training and awareness are needed to help mitigate these internal risks."
Research firm Gartner suggests that the security awareness computer-based training market will grow to over $1.1 billion by the end of 2020.