Google Acquires Bitium for Cloud Identity and Access Management, SSO -

Google has acquired Bitium, a California company that specializes in identity and access management (IAM) and single sign-on (SSO) for cloud applications, for an undisclosed sum.

With the Bitium acquisition, Google Cloud enterprise customers will be able to leverage IAM and SSO capabilities across their cloud and mobile environments, Google said in a company statement.

"Bitium helps us deliver a broad portfolio of app integrations for provisioning and SSO," Google indicated. "As we add Bitium's capabilities, we'll continue to work closely with our vibrant ecosystem of identity partners so that customers are able to choose the best solutions to meet their needs."

What Is Bitium?

Founded in 2012, Bitium offers an identity management service designed to help companies realize the full value of cloud computing.

Related: ChannelE2E Podcast with Google Cloud Partner Leader Bertrand Yansouni

Bitium's identity management service offers the following capabilities:

App Management: Ensures organizations can use an application programming interface (API) to integrate with web-based partner apps outside a firewall, along with internal custom web apps.

Credential Management: Empowers organizations to take ownership of employee credentials and drive accountability.

Directory Integration: Integrates with an organization's existing directories in Active Directory (AD), Google Apps or HR management systems to extend user identity into the cloud.

Federated Identity: Enables end users to access their apps with a single login.

Reporting and Compliance: Tracks hundreds of access and security event types.

Secure Authentication: Provides organizations with industry-standard Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) to connect with cloud apps, as well as multi-factor authentication (MFA) to prevent unauthorized logins and keep apps and information safe.

Single Point of Entry: Allows users to access thousands of cloud apps and an organization's internal web apps from a single point of entry.

User Provisioning and Deprovisioning: Automates user management to accelerate user provisioning and deprovisioning.

Thanks to the Bitium acquisition, Google Cloud users may be better equipped than ever before to safeguard their sensitive data against cybercriminals. The Bitium acquisition also represents one of several recent moves by Google to provide enhanced security for Google Cloud users.

Google Cloud Security Moves

Google last month released details about App Engine Firewall and Titan, a purpose-built chip that establishes a "hardware root of trust" for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) servers.

Titan, a low-power microcontroller, offers integrity verification of firmware and software components, Google stated. It integrates with Google data centers' secure boot process to deliver additional layers of protection.

Meanwhile, App Engine Firewall is a GCP capability that enables App Engine application developers and administrators to control access to an app through a set of rules, Google indicated.

App Engine Firewall allows App Engine users to create a firewall to allow only traffic within a specific network or from a specific service, Google said. In addition, App Engine Firewall enables App Engine users to block traffic to an app from malicious IP addresses.