Cloudflare acquires Area 1 Security: Amid continuous conflict detection

Cloudflare is one of the most prominent website security compliance companies specialising in SASE (secure access service edge, pronounced as sassy). Their recent acquisition of Area 1 Security for nearly $162 million. They are bringing in website security compliance, SASE and small-large business to prevent cyber-attacks.

According to a blog by Light-reading, Area 1 Security was responsible for blocking nearly 40 million phishing attempts to email, malware, ransomware, and similar threats to business emails.

FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center 2020 Internet Crime Report declared over $1.8 billion was lost by US business owners to phasing emails directly found in their inboxes and computers.

There are tons of hacking, phishing, spamming tools and if any one of those bypasses' initial security, attackers will launch further attacks to demonstrate their skills and cause further damage. Companies like Cloudflare come into play, serving millions of customers, such as business owners, to protect against cyber threats.

The acquisition enables "secure, fast email security through Cloudflare's Zero Trust network." Rob Hooper, senior manager of IT & Security of Namely, said, "we're impressed by Area 1's ultra-high signal-to-noise ratio, its flexible remediation options and the integrations it offered." Namely is a customer of Area 1 Horizon™ product in Human Resources/ Technology.

Organisations of all sizes primarily remain concerned about phishing attacks. Existing defence systems remain vulnerable to phishing attacks even though top-notch filters are placed on the front line of defence. Area 1 Security is a startup with a product on the market that vastly evolved to stop phishing attacks right at its doorstep.

The attacks are sent in packages to employee emails that affect the computer once read or opened. $162 million is the planned budget for buying the whole company as they will use both cash and stock to fund the acquisition. Cloudflare has already developed a suite of safety and security products, and the addition will give extra power to complete its set of tools.

Matthew Prince, Cloudflare's co-founder, emphasised email security and said, "email is the largest cyber-attack vector on the internet, which makes integrated email security-critical to any true Zero Trust network. That's why we're welcoming Area 1 Security to help make Cloudflare's' platform the clear leader in Zero Trust."

The integration is not the first product Cloudflare is launching to protect customers' email. WE all have heard of diversion techniques such as call diverts, SMS diverts, and similar features belonging to email operations. Even Apple has a similar feature where users can create custom emails without exposing the original one, and the custom email would transfer files to the primary ones directly.

A similar feature on Cloudflare's end gives clients a custom email with a Cloudflare interface. Meaning incoming emails can be directly redirected to a mail of choice without exposing or infecting the person or company.

Suspicious emails don't just appear in the "spam" folder, but they are automatically filtered through Cloudflare's leading detection and filtering technique. Customers can now change MX records at the DNS level with the Area 1 Security upgrade on the Cloudflare email security side of things. Also, the great news is there is no need to do anything on the customer's end. If you're already a Cloudflare client, the upgrades will be rolled out automatically for you to enjoy the features and stay safe at the same time. An inevitable change in terms and conditions may come, but that's just it.

Fortune 50 Insurance Company Messaging Manager also recommends Area 1 Security's email security gateways. Advanced detection techniques to counteract cyberattacks is much necessary today. Cloudflare automatically detects the current generation web phish, where automated integration with windows, bind and industry-leading DNS servers is already attached. Along with the features we mentioned, protecting mobile users and customer block pages from notifying them about phishing campaigns is one of the pluses of the package.

Within the second quarter of 2022, the deal will complete and at the moment, the company's stock is down $0.84 (0.92 per cent) to $90.50 per share. Since January 28, it has been the lowest recorded but not the all-time low. Buy-in, buy-out causes the price to fluctuate, but take advice from your trusted and professional financial advisor if you want to invest in something.