• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, February 17, 2014

Tel-Aviv-based SlickLogin CEO Or Zelig and CTO Eran Galili posted a note on the company's Web site during the weekend announcing that Google acquired the startup. Not a surprise, really, that Google found an online security expert in Israel using audio signals to authenticate users. The country, rich in history, has a modern side. Its technology and digital media, supported by startups like Kenshoo, Scala, SlickLogin, and Tech Marketing, have tremendous global impact.

Much of the technology being developed in Israeli-based incubators originates from ideas or offshoots of the military. In fact, all three SlickLogin cofounders worked with the Israeli Defense Forces elite cyber security unit, and have spent more than six years working on cutting-edge information security projects, per the company's Web site.

And while Google managed to convince the founders to sell the technology, reports note that the two -month old company has yet to release a commercial product and has no customers.

The unique technology doesn't use a code to authenticate the user. It requires a unique sound per login that is inaudible to the human ear. The sound plays through the device's speakers, as the microphone on the device analyzes the audio. It's all done through a smartphone app. If the authentication is successful, it sends a message to the Web server allowing the login. The app was built to replace to replace typed-in passwords. The company demonstrated and launched SlickLogin in beta at the Disrupt San Francisco 2013 conference.

Keeping online transactions and other information secure has become a major focus for search engines, social media sites, and retailers supporting ecommerce transactions.

"Sound Waves" photo from Shutterstock.