SecureAuth Corp.’s new CEO Paul Trulove says his goal is “keeping the bad guys” away from your computer connection, while making it more efficient for authorized people to make the right connections.
The Irvine-based cybersecurity firm said earlier this month that Trulove has been appointed CEO to accelerate growth in the identity and access management market.
He succeeds interim CEO Ravi Khatod, who retains his post as company chairman.
SecureAuth is among Orange County’s more prominent cybersecurity firms, having raised over $200 million since its 2005 founding. Its main investor is K1 Investment Management of Manhattan Beach.
Privately held SecureAuth doesn’t disclose revenue. As of a few years ago, it was estimated to have an annual run rate in the $100 million range. Its customers are primarily large enterprises with plenty of employees.
Trulove has over 15 years of experience in identity and access management, serving as chief product officer of Austin, Texas-based SailPoint in his most recent previous role.
Adaptive Authentication
“Every organization demands seamless authentication for its employees, business partners and customers all while keeping the bad guys out,” according to Trulove.
Trulove told the Business Journal on Feb. 9 the goal is “making sure the right people have access to the right things at the right time” while unauthorized people are kept out.
The SecureAuth system, based on what it calls “adaptive authentication,” considers context about users and what they are attempting to access to determine the right login steps.
Context in this case can be whether the device is recognized, whether the user is on a known network, what country they are in, and other context to assess the level of risk that the person is not who she or he claims to be.
At the same time, Trulove said, “you don’t want too much friction because people will get frustrated.”
Unisys, Bass
SecureAuth has about 600 customers globally, and its products are distributed in the cloud, on premises and hybrid.
Notable users include child care services provider Bright Horizons, outdoor equipment company Bass Pro Shops, and IT company Unisys as well as Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York.
SecureAuth says it manages and protects access to applications, systems, and data at scale, “anywhere in the world.”
Trulove will remain working in Texas. He said he took over the new role “a couple weeks ago” and expects to be in Orange County on a regular basis. SecureAuth also has a development team in Buenos Aires and employees in Portland, Ore. according to Trulove.
The company, with about 250 employees, was advertising for 16 positions as of Feb. 14, including technical writer and senior software engineer.
Biometric Advances
Some have suggested that login may one day depend on reading a user’s iris. Says Trulove: “In some cases we’re not that far away from it” as biometrics authentication progresses.
His appointment builds upon SecureAuth’s acquisition of Acceptto, a Portland, Ore.-based startup that developed a set of cloud AI-powered multi-factor authentication and password-less solutions.
SecureAuth purchased Acceptto in November to boost cyber protections as more workers go to a hybrid model shifting between home and office. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.
New Marketing Chief
Also on the hiring front, SecureAuth recently named Mandeep Khera as its new chief marketing officer.
Khera has been a senior global executive in marketing, channels, and business development for over 25 years in companies of various sizes offering enterprise software/SaaS including HP, VeriSign, Gigamon, Cenzic, LogLogic, Arxan, and others.
