Data security company Varonis acquires email security provider SlashNext to improve phishing attack detection.
SlashNext specializes in recognizing phishing attacks via email, WhatsApp, Slack, Teams, and Zoom. The technology uses computer vision, natural language processing, and virtual browsers to detect social manipulation.
The acquisition should enable Varonis to establish comprehensive threat detection. Varonis’ Data Security Platform will be expanded with AI-driven email security. This will enable organizations to detect and stop attacks earlier, before they develop into data breaches.
AI attackers are getting smarter
Hackers are increasingly using AI to set up automated campaigns. They imitate tone, branding, voice, and even video to deceive users. Traditional email security tools often struggle to detect these attacks because they have become increasingly sophisticated.
The combination of SlashNext’s multi-channel phishing defense with Varonis’ end-to-end data security approach should help organizations detect early signs of compromise.
Founder and CEO Atif Mushtaq spent nine years as a senior scientist at FireEye, where he worked on malware detection technology. At SlashNext, he focused on unraveling the psychology behind phishing and social engineering. The company developed algorithms that recognize characteristics in tone and style that betray attackers’ intentions.
Varonis has long positioned itself as a pioneer in data-centric threat detection. In 2024, the company launched a managed data detection and response service with a 30-minute response time to ransomware. The company states that it has investigated more than 10,000 incidents and prevents an average of five cyberattacks on its customers every day.