Sookasa

Sookasa, Inc. operated in the cloud security sector, offering a platform designed to protect files across popular cloud storage services and mobile devices. The company was founded in 2012 by Asaf Cidon and Meir Cohen. The founders' background is rooted in security and academia; Asaf Cidon was a PhD student at Stanford University, where his research on encrypted search technology laid the groundwork for Sookasa's core product. Meir Cohen brought experience from companies like VMware. Their journey began with the insight that while cloud services offered convenience, they lacked the robust, file-level security and compliance controls necessary for enterprise and regulated industries.

The business targeted a range of clients, from individual professionals to large enterprises, with a particular focus on those in regulated industries like healthcare (HIPAA compliance) and legal services. Sookasa's business model was subscription-based, providing a freemium offering to attract individual users and paid tiers for professional and enterprise clients requiring advanced features and controls. Revenue was generated through these subscription fees, which unlocked capabilities such as centralized administration, audit trails, and selective remote wiping of data.

Sookasa's product was a data encryption platform that created a secure folder, referred to as the 'Sookasa folder', within a user's existing cloud storage service (like Dropbox or Google Drive). Any file placed into this folder was automatically encrypted on the user's device before being synced to the cloud. This ensured that the cloud provider never had access to the unencrypted data. The key benefit was its seamless integration and ease of use, allowing users to continue their normal workflows without complex security procedures. A significant feature was its access control dashboard, which enabled administrators to grant or revoke access to encrypted files on a per-user and per-device basis, providing granular control over sensitive information. In 2016, Sookasa was acquired by Barracuda Networks, a prominent security and storage solutions provider, which integrated Sookasa's technology into its broader product portfolio.

Keywords: cloud security, data encryption, file protection, HIPAA compliance, Dropbox security, Google Drive security, access control, freemium, SaaS, data privacy