Read full coverage of the Zilla Security Series A in TechCrunch here

Identity is a big part of any security strategy, helping control access to applications and services across a company. Sometimes that involves a person, and sometimes a machine, adding to the complexity and requiring a more automated approach to identity management. Zilla Security, a Boston-based startup, believes it has come up with a solution to meet these more modern identity requirements.

Today the company announced a $13.5 million Series A investment.

Company CEO and co-founder Deepak Taneja says his company believes that identity has become the foundational piece in any security stack, and he says that requires a new approach to protecting it.

“There’s been a bunch of companies over the last decade that are focused on authenticating identities and making sure that you’re establishing trust in the right identities,” Taneja told TechCrunch. “The next frontier is all about exactly what those trusted identities have access to. And that’s what Zilla focuses on. Whether those trusted identities are people, machines or APIs, we are ensuring that the right identities have the right access, which has become absolutely critical,” he said.