In case you missed it, Portland’s Janrain was acquired by Akamai. Given that it was the first real Monday following the holidays, I can totally appreciate that you might have missed it. So I thought I would round up some content to help get you up to speed on the deal.
Akamai blog: Digital identity, digital trust, Janrain and Akamai
I believe the combination of Janrain’s Identity services with Akamai Bot Manager will result in increased accuracy in mitigating identity fraud – delivering superior detection with the lowest possible false positive rates. Janrain’s technology will allow Akamai to understand login history and access patterns (e.g. Geo/City/Time of the day/Device, etc.) which will help further differentiate legitimate end user login attempts from bot-based attacks. It will also allow Akamai to offer better, more nuanced responses to potential attackers, including step up authentication that enhances protection without compromising normal end user experience. Together, these capabilities are expected to help Akamai to “stay ahead” of both the competition and the “bad guys” in mitigating the rapidly evolving credential abuse attacks facing customers today.
Bloomberg: Why Akamai agreed to acquire Janrain
Tom Leighton, Akamai chief executive officer, discusses the company’s acquisition of Janrain and the demand for cybersecurity software with Bloomberg’s Caroline Hyde, Joe Weisenthal and Romaine Bostick on “Bloomberg Markets: What’d You Miss?”
Marketing Land: Akamai buys identity provider Janrain
For marketers, the integration of Janrain’s Identity Cloud with Akamai’s Intelligent Edge Platform means this identity service now has built-in security, anti-bot services and an ability to handle large spikes in traffic. And Akamai, which had been passing logins through its security/acceleration platform for sites and apps, can now also offer user authentication and authorization services on its platform.
Portland Business Journal: Akamai plans Portland growth after Janrain acquisition
Akamai plans to build out its Portland roster and invest in the office as a center of excellence for identity management, said John Summers, vice president and chief technology officer for Akamai.
Silicon Angle: Akamai acquires identity provider Janrain to boost security portfolio
The capabilities that Janrain brings to the table should enable Akamai to mitigate this threat for its enterprise customers. The technology will complement Akamai’s Bot Manager service, which helps companies block web traffic from nonhuman sources such as scripts used by hackers to abuse stolen login credentials.
The Oregonian: Portland identity management firm Janrain sold to Massachusetts company, Akamai
Janrain, which once employed more than 150, now employs 127 — 92 of them in the Portland office. Akamai said it will retain the Portland site and integrate a small group of its employees already here into Janrain’s office.
ZDNet: Akamai acquires Janrain to strengthen identity access controls, bot protection
Janrain’s technologies will also be merged with the Akamai Bot Manager, which Summers says already protects customer login pages from attack. While Bot manager detects bot activity, it is hoped Janrain’s solutions will “result in increased accuracy in mitigating identity fraud — delivering superior detection with the lowest possible false positive rates,” as well as giving Akamai the chance to review login history and access patterns to better understand botnet attacks.
