Intel purchases PasswordBox to beef up security tools

Intel has acquired a password management startup PasswordBox, a Canadian company that offers an online identity manager designed to let users log on to a range of websites and services with just one click, in order to beef up its Internet security efforts.

PasswordBox lets users store login credentials in what the company calls a virtual safety deposit box. While users surf the Web, users can click on the sites they want to login to and PasswordBox handles the login.

In addition to managing passwords, PasswordBox can also store and encrypt credit card information for quicker checkouts when shopping online.

Chris Young, general manager of the Intel Security Group, said PasswordBox helps to bring relief to password fatigue by simplifying logins.

"Intel Security and PasswordBox share the same goal of improving digital identity protection across all devices and platforms," he said in a news release.

"To our 14 million downloaded users, from everyone at Team PasswordBox, 'Thank You' doesn't even come close to expressing our gratitude," PasswordBox wrote on its blog. "You've trusted us to manage your digital lives, shared your feedback and ideas, and let us know how using PasswordBox has improved your daily lives."

According to a recent report by consulting firm Deloitte, over 90 percent of user-generated passwords are vulnerable to hacking, claiming that the 10,000 most common passwords could access close to 98 percent of all accounts. Intel hopes the buyout agreement will bring the companies together to tackle this issue.

This year Intel phased out its McAfee brand, which it bought in August 2010 for $7.6 billion, in favour of the new Intel Security division.