Czech Security Firm Avast to Acquire Digital ID Company SecureKey

Global digital security and privacy firm Avast is planning to acquire digital identity and authentication company SecureKey Technologies for undisclosed terms, according to a press release on Thursday (March 24).

SecureKey offers next-generation privacy-enhancing services that focus on streamlining access to online services while ensuring that consumers only share information with others they’ve granted permission. The company aims to use digital versions of credentials they already have and trust.

“We envisage a global and reusable digital identity framework which will underpin a new trust layer for the internet. It’s clear that digital identity is the critical enabler for many digital services and SecureKey’s success reflects the growing demand for this from consumers,” said Ondrej Vlcek, CEO, Avast.

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“SecureKey is highly complementary to Avast’s prior work in identity,” Vlcek said.

Headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, Avast has over 435 million digital users. The company offers products under the Avast and AVG brands that protect people from online threats and the growing threats from the internet-of-things ecosystem. Using machine learning and artificial intelligence, its systems detect and stop threats in real time.

Read more: Study: 57% of Consumers Prefer Advanced ID Verification After Trying It

“SecureKey’s vision has been to revolutionize the way consumers and organizations approach identity and the sharing of personal information in the digital age. By working closely with governments, financial institutions and businesses, we have an established track record of trusted and mature identity networks,” said Greg Wolfond, CEO, SecureKey.

“Combining forces with Avast enables us to innovate further and faster with our technology,” he added.

Headquartered in Canada, SecureKey’s solutions — including Verified.Me and Government Sign-In by Verified.Me — enable over 200 million secure digital ID transactions every year worldwide. Emerging digital identity standards and solutions will also be supported, including Decentralized Identifiers and Verifiable Credentials.