FireLayers

FireLayers was an Israeli cloud security company founded in 2013 by Yair Grindlinger and Doron Elgressy. Grindlinger, who served as CEO, brought extensive experience from the cybersecurity world, including time in the Israeli Defense Forces and roles at several security companies that were later acquired. Elgressy served as the company's president. The firm was established to address the security and compliance gaps emerging as enterprises increasingly adopted cloud applications.

The company operated in the cloud application security market, providing a platform that acted as a security gateway between users and cloud applications. This platform allowed enterprises to enforce security, governance, and compliance policies across any cloud application, on any device. It catered to medium and large enterprises, helping them secure popular SaaS applications like Salesforce, Office 365, and Dropbox, as well as homegrown cloud apps. The business model centered on its policy-based platform that offered features like risk-based authentication, threat detection, and real-time threat prevention. FireLayers' solution gave IT departments granular control, enabling them to set specific rules, for instance, requiring two-factor authentication for certain actions or restricting access to corporate devices only.

A significant milestone for FireLayers was its acquisition by Proofpoint, Inc. in October 2016 for approximately $55 million, consisting of $46 million in cash and $9 million in stock. This acquisition allowed Proofpoint to extend its Targeted Attack Protection (TAP) services to SaaS applications, detecting and blocking malicious files and links shared via these platforms. The threat intelligence gathered from FireLayers' technology was integrated into Proofpoint's Nexus security and compliance platform. Following the acquisition, FireLayers' Herzliya office became Proofpoint's Israeli development center, and the team, including the founders, joined Proofpoint to continue developing the cloud security solutions.

Keywords: cloud security, SaaS security, cloud application protection, CASB, targeted attack protection, threat intelligence, compliance, governance, policy-based security, data protection, access control, risk mitigation, threat prevention, Proofpoint, Yair Grindlinger, Doron Elgressy, cloud access security broker, enterprise security, SaaS applications, Office 365 security, Salesforce security