U.S. Bottomline Technologies purchases Israeli anti-cyber fraud firm

U.S. online transactions firm, Bottomline Technologies, acquired Intellinx Tuesday, an Israeli data security firm, for 85 million U.S. dollars, said both companies in a joint statement.

Intellinx developed a system which detects and prevents online fraud. It monitors and analyzes users' web surfing behavior anonymously, and immediately flags and stops suspicious activity.

The Israeli-based company declined to publicize its client list due to "the sensitive nature of operations," but a company spokesperson said its clientele includes "the world's leading banks and government agencies."

"We are extremely excited to team up with Intellinx" said Rob Eberle, President and CEO of Bottomline. Delaware-based Bottomline provides cloud-based digital banking, fraud prevention, payment, insurance and health care services to over 10,000 corporations worldwide.

Eberle said the acquisition was undertaken amidst growing customer demand for solutions to combat cyber fraud.

"The Intellinx solution is unique to the market. Its ability to create a 'digital surveillance camera' delivers a critical, original line of protection against cyber attacks and fraud, with instant alerts, and full case-management capability," he added.

Founder and CEO of Intellinx, Orna Mintz-Dov, said that "union with Bottomline offers us the market capacity and distribution required to present our unique capabilities to the wider market."

Recent years witnessed a rise in data leaks and cyber-fraud, with over 80 million personal records breached in the U.S. alone in 2014, including 40 percent of U.S. healthcare organizations criminal data violation reports - up 100 percent since 2010.

According to data company Gartner Consulting, the anti-fraud market is determined at 17 billion dollars worldwide per annum and is projected to grow to 35 billion dollars by 2019. Endit