SkyFormation

Founded in 2014 by Asaf Barkan, Uri Ben-dor, and Nadav Lavy, SkyFormation was an Israeli-based cloud application security company that developed a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) platform. The firm was established to address the growing security challenges and threats associated with the corporate shift to cloud-based applications and services. A significant milestone for the company occurred on July 2, 2019, when it was acquired by Exabeam, a provider of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions. This acquisition was a strategic move for Exabeam, allowing it to integrate SkyFormation's technology, establish an office in Israel, and enhance its cloud security capabilities.

SkyFormation's core business centered on providing organizations with visibility into and control over their cloud environments. The company's platform functioned as an intermediary between users and cloud service providers, extending on-premise security policies to the cloud and mitigating risks tied to unauthorized cloud usage, often referred to as "Shadow IT". The business model was likely based on selling its software solution, with pricing mentioned at one point to start at $0.10 per employee per month. Its clients were enterprises that utilized cloud applications and required robust security operations to protect sensitive data.

The company’s main offering was a CASB platform designed to integrate with and augment a client's existing SIEM and Security Operations Center (SOC) tools. Its key function was to collect and centralize activity logs from over 30 different cloud services, including prominent platforms like AWS, Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce, and Google. A distinct feature was the automatic updating of connectors when cloud service APIs changed, which ensured continuous data collection without requiring manual coding or professional services from the client. The platform used behavioral analytics to detect anomalous user behavior, unauthorized permission changes, and other potential threats. By forwarding security events to an organization's central security tools, SkyFormation enabled more effective threat detection, investigation, and response for all cloud-based activities.

Keywords: cloud security, CASB, cloud access security broker, SIEM integration, log aggregation, threat detection, data protection, compliance, behavioral analytics, cloud application security, shadow IT discovery, security operations, Exabeam, Asaf Barkan, Uri Ben-dor, Nadav Lavy, API integration, cloud visibility, data leakage prevention, security policy enforcement