Mimecast and Okta join forces to reduce insider threat attacks

Mimecast Limited, an advanced email and collaboration security company, has announced a new strategic integration with Okta, an independent identity provider, to enable enterprise customers to proactively mitigate the increasing risk and complexity of insider threat attacks.

Building on Mimecast's library of API integrations, the integration partnership is designed to further enable organisations to Work Protected amidst the proliferation of social engineering attacks targeting their hybrid workforce, customers, and supply chain.

The integration of these solutions can empower strained IT teams with an expanded arsenal of AI-enabled tools and technologies that strengthen protection at the intersection of business communications, people, and data.

The increased prevalence and damaging ramifications of insider threat attacks are well documented. IBM's 2022 Cost of a Data Breach Report found that stolen or compromised credentials were the most common cause of data breaches over the previous year, serving as the primary attack vector in nearly 20% of breaches.

They also had the longest lifecycle of all breaches, taking approximately 243 days to identify and another 84 days to contain, and resulted in an average of $4.50 USD million in losses. However, according to the same study, organisations with fully deployed security AI and automation experienced breach lifecycles that were 74 days shorter, on average, and cost a median of US$3.05 million less.

By integrating Mimecast's purpose-built, cloud-native email and collaboration security with Okta's identity access management offerings, organisations can deploy AI-enabled automation to help mitigate the impact of compromised account activity streamlining human workflows through real-time threat intelligence sharing and automated response actions across two best-of-breed solution architectures.

Optimised for rapid deployment flexibility and simplicity of use, the integration is engineered to allow administrators to assume granular control within minutes regardless of their level of IT expertise, the company states.

Jules Martin, Mimecast Vice President of Ecosystems and Alliance, says, "Our integration partnership with Okta comes at a pivotal time as insider threats have emerged as a critical vulnerability for the modern hybrid enterprise. This integration is a microcosm of the Mimecast mission to extend our services beyond email and collaboration security alone.

"Joining forces with a fellow industry pioneer like Okta enables us to execute a vital team sport approach to cybersecurity, building on the existing security investments, capabilities, and tools of our customers to ensure their organisations remain safe."

John Grundy, Okta Senior Strategic Alliance Manager, says, "With the ever-evolving nature of the cyber threat landscape, its imperative that we amplify our identity access management services to address new and emerging attack vectors. This integration partnership with Mimecast enables us to do exactly that, creating a holistic automation framework that empowers enterprises to enhance the efficiency of their insider threat detection and response posture."