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Software giant IBM has acquired automated cloud data security and compliance provider Polar Security for an undisclosed sum. Reports claimed that the deal was valued at about $60 million.

Founded in January 2021, Polar Security is a pioneer of data security posture management (DSPM), an emerging cybersecurity segment that reveals where sensitive data is stored, who has access to it, how it's used, and identifies vulnerabilities.

IBM said it plans to integrate Polar Security's DSPM technology within its 'Guardium' family of leading data security products.

"With this integration, IBM Security Guardium will provide security teams with a data security platform that spans all data types across all storage locations - SaaS, on premise and in public cloud infrastructure," said Dinesh Nirmal, Senior Vice President, Products, IBM Software.

This marks IBM's 5th acquisition in 2023. Since Arvind Krishna became CEO in April 2020, IBM has acquired more than 30 companies, bolstering its hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

Polar Security can automatically find unknown and sensitive data across the cloud, including structured and unstructured assets within cloud service providers, SaaS properties, and data lakes.

Once discovered, it classifies the data, maps the potential and actual flow of that data, and identifies vulnerabilities, such as misconfigurations, over-entitlements, and behaviour that violates policy or regulations.

Based on a risk-based prioritisation methodology, Polar Security provides remediation reports that pinpoint the most pressing security risks and compliance violations and provides an analysis of the underlying causes and practical recommendations to address them, said IBM.