What Illusive does

Illusive was founded in 2014 in Tel Aviv, Israel, as a cybersecurity vendor specializing in identity threat detection and response (ITDR) and deception technology. The company's core product is an agentless platform that discovers and remediates identity vulnerabilities across hybrid cloud and on-premises environments, detects lateral movement of advanced persistent threats and ransomware, and activates deception capabilities to stop threat actors before they access corporate assets. The architecture's distinguishing technical characteristic is its agentless design, which provides comprehensive identity visibility without requiring endpoint or system agent installation, paired with proprietary deception layers designed to confuse and trap adversaries during lateral traversal. Headcount was 51-100 employees at the time of acquisition.

The company operated an enterprise go-to-market combining direct field sales with channel partners and distributors, selling annual subscription-based contracts with quote-based pricing targeting large organizations. Its target segments spanned enterprise hybrid-cloud organizations as the primary use case, plus four named verticals: Federal Government (via FedRAMP certified offerings), Healthcare (patient data and IP protection), Financial Services (compliance-driven identity protection), and Higher Education (campus and research data). The company secured approximately $54 million in disclosed venture funding from 2015 through 2020 from Bessemer Venture Partners, NEA, Team8, Microsoft (M12), Cisco, Citi Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Marker, and Spring Lake Equity Partners.

In 2024, Proofpoint acquired Illusive, rebranding the product as Proofpoint Identity Threat Defense and integrating it into Proofpoint's broader security platform spanning email protection, DLP, insider threat management, account takeover protection, and AI/threat intelligence (Nexus). Following the acquisition, Illusive no longer operates as an independent entity; its capabilities are now distributed through Proofpoint's global direct enterprise sales, channel partner, technology alliance, and MSP partner networks across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. The combined offering competes in the global deception technology market, which was projected at USD 1.59-2.48 billion in 2024 growing to USD 3.97-6.31 billion by 2033, alongside other leading players such as Attivo Networks and Rapid7.

Name

Illusive

Legal name

Proofpoint, Inc.

Website

https://illusive.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Illusive (now Proofpoint Identity Threat Defense) provides agentless identity threat detection and response with deception technology, targeting enterprise hybrid-cloud environments and federal, healthcare, financial services, and higher education verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Access Security & Identity Threat Detection (ITDR, UEBA for Identity) (HDADAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Identity Threat Detection & Response (ITDR) (HDAEAJAH), Extended Detection & Response (XDR) (HDADAEAB), Endpoint Security Managed Services (EDR/XDR) (BPAEADAH)

Keywords

• Identity threat detection
• Deception technology
• Lateral movement prevention
• Agentless security
• ITDR platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Tel Aviv-yafo

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Identity Threat Defense Platform Subscription: Proofpoint Identity Threat Defense (formerly Illusive) operates as part of Proofpoint's security platform, offering subscription-based pricing for identity threat detection and response capabilities. The solution is sold as part of Proofpoint's broader cybersecurity portfolio targeting enterprise customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Illusive develops an agentless Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) platform that uses deception technology to discover and remediate modern identity vulnerabilities, detect lateral movements of APTs, ransomware, and other threats across cloud and hybrid environments, and stop threat actors in real time before they access corporate assets. The product is now sold as Proofpoint Identity Threat Defense following Proofpoint's 2024 acquisition of Illusive.

Product overview

Illusive has been acquired by Proofpoint and operates as Proofpoint Identity Threat Defense. The offering is a single unified agentless ITDR product that provides comprehensive prevention and visibility across all organizational identities, enabling discovery and remediation of identity vulnerabilities before they become real risks, detection of lateral movements, and activation of deception to stop active threats in real-time.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Proofpoint Identity Threat Defense: An agentless identity threat detection and response solution that provides comprehensive prevention and visibility across identities to discover and remediate modern identity vulnerabilities, detect lateral movements, and activate deception to stop threat actors in action.

Products and services

• Proofpoint Identity Threat Defense (formerly Illusive) An agentless identity threat detection and response (ITDR) solution for enterprise organizations that discovers and remediates modern identity vulnerabilities, detects lateral movements across cloud and hybrid environments, and activates deception technology to stop active threat actors in real time before they access corporate assets.

Quantifiable outcome

• AI-powered deception systems enable organizations to detect threats 91 hours faster than traditional security approaches
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ProofpointcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProofpoint acquired Illusive, integrating its identity threat detection and response capabilities into the Proofpoint security platform. Illusive now operates as Proofpoint Identity Threat Defense, combining Proofpoint's resources and distribution with Illusive's deception and ITDR technology.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft Defender for Identity: Identity threat detection offering bundled into Microsoft's enterprise security and Azure AD/Entra ID ecosystem. Represents the primary incumbent threat for ITDR as a category being absorbed into broader identity platforms at no marginal cost.
• SentinelOne: XDR/endpoint security incumbent that acquired Attivo Networks to enter the deception/ITDR space directly. SentinelOne is one of the most direct platform-level competitors to Proofpoint Identity Threat Defense.
• CyberArk: Identity security incumbent (privileged access management) that has expanded into identity threat detection and response. Competes with Illusive for identity-layer security budget, particularly in regulated industries and federal.
• CrowdStrike: Endpoint security incumbent that has expanded into identity threat detection and response via its Falcon Identity Threat Protection module. CrowdStrike competes directly with Illusive's ITDR value proposition as part of a much broader XDR platform.

Direct peers

• Rapid7: Identified alongside Illusive as a top deception technology vendor globally. Rapid7 offers deception capabilities as part of its InsightIDR/InsightConnect platform, competing for the same enterprise ITDR budget.
• Acalvio Technologies: Specialized deception-based cybersecurity vendor providing active defense and identity threat detection. Acalvio competes with Illusive in the enterprise deception platform category, particularly in federal and large enterprise accounts.
• Attivo Networks: Direct competitor in the deception technology space, providing identity-based deception and ITDR capabilities. Attivo was acquired by SentinelOne in 2022, making it the closest analogue to Illusive's own trajectory — both started as deception specialists and were absorbed by larger endpoint security platforms.

Emerging players

• Silverfort: Identity security platform focused on agentless identity threat protection across hybrid environments — a closely adjacent value proposition to Illusive's agentless ITDR approach, with overlap in identity vulnerability discovery and lateral movement detection.
• BeyondTrust: Privileged access and identity security vendor with overlapping threat detection capabilities. Comparable to Illusive in targeting identity-layer attack vectors and serving federal/enterprise buyers.
• XM Cyber: Attack path management and breach simulation vendor (acquired by Schwarz Group) with adjacent capabilities to Illusive's identity vulnerability discovery and lateral movement detection. Targets similar enterprise security buyers seeking proactive threat exposure reduction.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/illusivenw
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCIvtJgsrUzFo90NKeiVozhQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/illusivenetworks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/illusive
• Instagraminstagram.com/proofpoint

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors12 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Illusive