CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. said today it plans to acquire zero trust cybersecurity startup Preempt Security Inc. for $96 million.

The deal consists of a cash payment of $86 million and $10 million in stock and options subject to vesting conditions.

Founded in 2014 and launched in 2016, Preempt Security offers a zero-trust and conditional access solution for continuously detecting and preempting threats based on identity, behavior and risk. The company’s technology is said to empower enterprises to optimize identity hygiene and stop attackers and insider threats in real-time before they can impact business.

The zero-trust model has become increasingly popular in the cybersecurity space over the last half-decade. Zero-trust is based on the idea of maintaining strict access controls and not trusting any people trying to access a network by default, even when they are already in a given network. The zero-trust security market is predicted to be worth $38.6 billion by 2024.

Preemept’s platform is designed to verify access and block untrusted authentications, apply policy based on behavior risk, enable tighter controls over privileged users, and offer adoptive response options such as multifactor authentication for any app or resource.

For CrowdStrike, Preempt offers modern zero-trust security architecture and threat protection to keep organizations’ users, endpoints and data safe from modern attacks without compromising productivity or the user experience. Post-acquisition, CrowdStrike intends to offer its customers enhanced zero-trust security capabilities and strengthen the CrowdStrike Falcon platform with conditional access technology.

Protecting hybrid environments are of a particular focus. “Hybrid work environments will become the norm for many organizations which means that zero trust security with an identity-centric approach and detecting threats in real-time are critical for business continuity,” George Kurtz, co-founder and chief executive officer of CrowdStrike, said in a statement. “With the addition of Preempt Security’s capabilities, the CrowdStrike Falcon platform will provide enhanced protection against identity-based attacks and insider threats.”

Preempt had raised $27.5 million in venture capital funding. Investors included Intel Capital, Blackstone Group, ClearSky, General Catalyst and several individual investors. The acquisition is expected to close during CrowdStrike’s fiscal third quarter ending Oct. 31, subject to customary closing conditions.

CrowdStrike investors seemed to be somewhat ambivalent about the deal. The company’s share price was down almost 3% in regular trading, to $138.60, on a day the Nasdaq Composite was down 3%. CrowdStrike shares barely moved in after-hours trading, down a small fraction of a point.

Image: Preempt Security