Axis Security

Founded in 2018 by Dor Knafo and Gil Azrielant, Axis Security emerged as a cybersecurity firm addressing the complexities of secure application access for the modern, distributed workforce. The founders, who met during their service in the Israeli Defense Forces' elite Unit 8200, identified fundamental flaws in how businesses traditionally provide access to applications. Knafo, previously a senior security researcher at Fireglass (acquired by Symantec), and Azrielant, who also served in Unit 8200 before co-founding a travel tech platform, leveraged their deep understanding of cyber operations and large-scale enterprise systems to build a new security model. Their vision was to decouple application access from network access, a departure from legacy VPN solutions.

Axis Security operates in the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) market, providing a cloud-native Security Services Edge (SSE) platform named Atmos. This platform offers a suite of integrated services including Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), and Digital Experience Monitoring. The business model is centered on providing these security solutions as a service to enterprises, enabling them to secure access to web, cloud, and private applications for employees and third-party users across any device or location. By brokering connections based on user identity and policy rather than network position, the platform minimizes the attack surface and prevents lateral movement by malicious actors.

The company's core product, the Atmos SSE platform, is a globally distributed cloud service with over 350 points of presence. It functions by inspecting all traffic and creating direct, one-to-one connections between an authorized user and a specific business resource, enforcing a zero-trust policy. A key feature is its ability to support all ports and protocols, including legacy applications, through either agent-based or agentless deployment. This approach simplifies remote access, enhances security compared to traditional VPNs, and provides granular visibility and control over user activity. In March 2023, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced its acquisition of Axis Security, integrating its SSE platform into HPE's Aruba networking and security portfolio to deliver a unified SASE solution.

Keywords: Security Service Edge, Zero Trust Network Access, cloud security, SASE, cybersecurity, application access, network security, CASB, Secure Web Gateway, remote access