Secure Islands

About Secure Islands

Secure Islands Technologies was an Israeli cybersecurity firm established in 2006 by brothers Aki and Yuval Eldar. Yuval Eldar brought over 25 years of R&D and product management experience, including a role as R&D Group Manager at Check Point, to his position as co-founder and CTO. The company began its journey in the Xenia Venture Capital Van Leer incubator in Jerusalem. Secure Islands focused on Information Protection and Control (IPC) solutions, specifically designed for what it termed the "borderless enterprise."

The company's core business was the development of policy-driven classification and protection for unstructured data. Its flagship product, IQProtector, performed "data immunization" by capturing and classifying data at its point of creation based on content, context, and user. This allowed organizations to embed persistent security policies, such as encryption and usage rights, directly into files. The technology ensured that sensitive information remained protected throughout its lifecycle, whether at rest, in motion, or in use, across on-premises systems, cloud services, and mobile devices. This approach targeted a critical shift in enterprise security, moving from perimeter defense to persistent data protection. Its client base consisted of top-tier Fortune 500 firms and government agencies, including prominent names like UBS, Vodafone, Credit Suisse, and OSRAM.

After raising approximately $20 million, with a notable $12 million round in 2014 from Credit Suisse NEXT Investors, Secure Islands had established itself as a key player in the data protection market. Its technology was built to integrate with Microsoft's Rights Management Services, making it a natural partner for the tech giant. This partnership culminated in a significant milestone in November 2015, when Microsoft announced its acquisition of Secure Islands for a sum reported to be between $77.5 million and $150 million. Following the acquisition, which was completed in December 2015, Microsoft integrated Secure Islands' technology into its Azure Rights Management Service to enhance its data protection capabilities across Office 365 and Windows.