ThisData

ThisData was a cybersecurity firm specializing in providing data security services to prevent account takeover attacks. Founded in 2014 by Rich John Chetwynd in Auckland, New Zealand, the company aimed to address the growing threat of data loss resulting from compromised user accounts. Initially, the company operated under the name Revert.io, which offered a backup service for Tumbler blogs, before rebranding to ThisData in October 2015.

The company's core service centered on protecting organizations from phishing, brute force, and social engineering attacks that could lead to account compromises and the theft of sensitive data. ThisData's platform utilized a unique anomaly detection engine and machine learning algorithms to create behavioral profiles for users. This system would track known IP addresses, devices, and browsers for each user to generate a risk score for every login attempt. If suspicious activity indicating a potential account takeover was detected, the system would alert the client through webhooks, enabling security automation, and notify the end-user to verify their activity. Over time, the platform evolved to incorporate more sophisticated user identification methods and machine learning models to improve the accuracy of its risk pipeline.

ThisData operated in the Network Management Software industry, serving businesses by helping them identify and monitor individuals with access to their data. The business model focused on a subscription-based or usage-based service, providing API integration for developers to connect their applications to ThisData's security features. The company successfully raised a total of $1.6M in funding over two rounds, including a Seed round in April 2014 and a Series A round in April 2015, with investors such as Punakaiki Fund.

In a strategic move to accelerate growth and expand market reach, ThisData was acquired by OneLogin, an Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions provider, on June 29, 2017. The partnership was a natural fit, as the two companies had already been collaborating on adaptive authentication. The acquisition allowed for the integration of ThisData's account takeover detection technology into OneLogin's broader security platform. Subsequently, OneLogin itself was acquired by One Identity in October 2021.

Keywords: account takeover prevention, data security, anomaly detection, machine learning security, user behavior analytics, identity and access management, cybersecurity, API security, login security, threat detection, phishing protection, brute force protection, behavioral biometrics, risk-based authentication, security automation, cloud security, network management software, Rich Chetwynd, OneLogin acquisition, Auckland startup