Ping Identity Buys Elastic Beam, Launches New Platform For APIs

Ping Identity, an identity Defined Security company, announced news on Tuesday (June 26) of the acquisition of API cybersecurity provider Elastic Beam and the launch of PingIntelligence for APIs.

In a press release, Ping Identity said the new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool brings an increased level of intelligence to how APIs are accessed and used, such as the ability to identify and block cyberattacks that target APIs to hurt data and systems. Ping Identity said it is the first company to use AI as a solution for API infrastructures in public and hybrid clouds.

Prior to Ping’s acquisition of Elastic Beam, Elastic Beam had built the first hybrid cloud software tool that used AI and API behavior expertise to detect and stop threats that use APIs to get control of systems and data. With this new technology, Ping Identity enables businesses to recognize and respond to rapidly changing attacks which target API vulnerabilities — without predefined policies or security rules.

“We believe that adding intelligence based on machine learning analytics to the Ping Identity platform is the next wave of identity security. For years, Ping has been a leader in this market through our PingFederate and PingAccess solutions,” commented Andre Durand, CEO of Ping Identity, in the press release. “This acquisition extends our leadership by providing a comprehensive intelligence-based approach to API security. As an industry, it’s critical that we make decisions based on the ever-changing nature of context and behavior versus predefined policies that attempt to capture when, where and why a user is trying to access something.”

According to Ping Identity, organizations recognize the economic benefits APIs can bring to their business. It noted that PSD2 and Open Banking have sped up the use of APIs and, as a result, they have become a new and growing security risk.

“APIs are innovation enablers, but they also have a security blindspot,” said Bernard Harguindeguy, founder of Elastic Beam and SVP, intelligence, at Ping Identity, in the same press release. “While they’re the primary channel for business transactions, their ubiquity and connectedness to sensitive data make them a prime target for bad actors. Elastic Beam was built to address this vulnerability.”