Cryptocard acquired by Safenet

Cryptocard, the UK authentication specialist, has been bought up by US encryption company SafeNet for an undisclosed sum.

The deal will see Safenet acquire Cryptocard's Blackshield cloud platform, which allows organisations to use legacy authentication servers and tokens to secure remote access to virtual desktop infrastructure and cloud platforms. It also includes the company's Fully Trust Authentication service.

By 2017, more than 50 per cent of enterprises will choose cloud-based services as the delivery option for new or refreshed user authentication implementations.

"As data continues to proliferate and move beyond traditional perimeters, both enterprise and government customers are demanding solutions that protect and control data and identities across networks, mobile devices and to and from the cloud," said president and chief executive (CEO) of SafeNet, Chris Fedde.

Analysts have forecast big growth in the authentication market. According to Gartner's Ant Allan, it will increase by around 30 per cent over the next twelve months.

"By 2017, more than 50 per cent of enterprises will choose cloud-based services as the delivery option for new or refreshed user authentication implementations, up from less than 10 per cent today," said Allan.

"However, it is likely that on-premise solutions will persist, especially in more risk averse enterprises that want to retain control of identity administration, credentialing and verification."

The acquisition is the latest in a wave of consolidation in the cloud security market. Last week, Trustwave announced it was acquiring cloud security research firm M86.