By Jaspreet Singh

(Reuters) -Cybersecurity company Okta raised annual revenue and profit forecasts on Tuesday, betting on growing demand for its identity verification tools as enterprises strengthen defenses against artificial intelligence-powered attacks.

Shares of the San Francisco, California-based company rose nearly 7% in extended trading.

Hackers often exploit client identities to steal critical business data, triggering the demand for tools from firms such as Okta that simplify security deployments, support compliance needs and enhance user experience.

“Overall, security and securing identity remain a budget imperative for companies. With the increase of threat actor activity … companies are continuing to invest in securing identity as a core requirement for their businesses,” O

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