Terms of the sale were not announced.
The purchase was confirmed with Google, sources said.
SlickLogin, an early-stage start-up, has been working on a system to utilize sound to make log-ins easier. The company, launched at TechCrunch Disrupt last year, uses a low-frequency sound generated by an app to log into websites.
Users hold up their phones to a computer or laptop’s microphone and play the sound, and are able to log in to secure sites.
SlickLogin made the announcement on its website and said that Google “shares (SlickLogin’s) core beliefs” in making the Internet safer, as well as, easing log-in authentication.
It cited Google’s release of the first two-step verification process that was offered for free.
The exact details of the three-person company acqui-hire are still under wraps, but Google has confirmed the acqui-hire with TechCrunch.
The company’s founders – Or Zelig (CEO), Eran Galili (CTO), and Ori Kabeli (VP R&D) - told TechCrunch that the system was secure, and that recording the sound from a phone wouldn’t do a hacker any good, because the sounds change depending on location, time of day, etc.
The system could be easily implemented on a website, using just a few lines of code.
Several other companies are working in the sound-authentication space, most notably payments platform Clinkle, Chirp, which allows users to share files using sound authorization, and Pronto, another Israeli start-up using sound for authentication.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com