Email security provider Mimecast Ltd. announced today that it has acquired human risk management solutions startup Elevate Security Inc. for an undisclosed price.

Founded in 2017, Elevate Security offers a human risk platform designed to help enterprises proactively identify and safeguard their riskiest users. The platform offers risk intelligence and risk intervention, allowing security teams to understand and categorize who is most at risk.

The company claims that after analyzing billions of cyber events spanning phishing, malware, browsing and safe data handling, it found that 8% of an organization’s workforce causes 80% of security incidents. Elevate Security addresses the problem by identifying those employees to automate response and controls.

Elevate Security offers tailored solutions for security awareness, security operations and identity and user risk authentication professionals. For security awareness, it engages employees as defenders by understanding individual behaviors, aiding in better organizational protection and fostering a culture of security accountability.

For SecOps, the platform eases Security Operations Center loads by integrating individual risk data into SecOps policies, tooling and controls automation, enhancing response efficiency and strengthening workforce safeguards. For IAM and IGA professionals, Elevate Security mitigates cybersecurity risks by incorporating each user’s unique risk profile into authentication and access governance processes.

Mimecast intends to continue to maintain and support existing Elevate Security customers, but the longer-term plan is to integrate Elevate’s technology into Mimecast products in upcoming quarters.

“People, communications and data are core to every organization and artificial intelligence has accelerated cyber criminals’ ability to exploit these essential elements for their own gain,” David Raissipour, chief technology and product officer at Mimecast, said in a statement. “People are historically the largest vulnerability in an organization but can also be the strongest line of defense if given the right tools and education. That’s our goal with this acquisition and core to our work – manage risk by understanding human behavior in the context of a complex environment and then acting on it.”

Coming into its acquisition, Elevate Security had raised $18.3 million in funding. Investors included Cisco Investments Inc., CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., Foundry Group LLC, Salesforce Ventures LLC, Shasta Ventures Management LLP, Costanoa Ventures Management LP and Defy Ventures Management LP.

In an interview with theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s live streaming studio in 2021, Masha Sedova, then Elevate’s co-founder and chief product officer, explained how diversity was the key to Elevate’s success.

Image: Elevate Security