Cyber attacks like the recent Stuxnet Trojan saga can be very costly for companies. The bad news are that such a attacks are on the rise. The good news are that there are tools out there that can protect you from such threats.
Earlier this week YL Ventures announced a 7-figure USD investment in Israel-based Seculert, a new non-intrusive Security-as-a-Service that comprehensively detects cyber threats affecting corporate networks. The exact sum was not disclosed.
Seculert (=Security Alert) is a subscription service based on proprietary patent-pending technology that detects and alerts companies of cyber threats affecting their networks, and accurately identifies the affected network domains.
Yoav Andrew Leitersdorf, Managing partner at YL Ventures explained why he is feeling bullish about the online security space:
YL Venture believes that the security space has never been more important or more active. By most estimates, virtually all of the Global 5000 corporations as well as most government agencies have, at any point in time, hundreds of workstations and servers running malware (malicious software designed to secretly access a computer system without the owner’s informed consent). According to Gartner (2009), over 60% of the top 100 most active websites either host malicious content or contain a masked redirect to a malicious site, 37% of web-borne threats being designed to steal personal and sensitive data. According to a Google study (2008), the detection capability of the anti-virus engines is lacking, with an average detection rate of 70% for the best engine. According to The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, federal agency computer systems are currently under cyber attack an average of 1.8 billion times per month. McAfee (one of the leading computer security companies) estimated that companies worldwide lost more than $1 trillion in 2008 in intellectual property due to data theft and cybercrime.
That establishes that there is a need and that threats are on the rise, but what about potential exits you ask?
Last August, McAfee has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Intel Corporation for $7.68 billion as Intel elevates focus on security on par with energy-efficient performance and connectivity. And last September, Hewlett Packard acquired security-software maker ArcSight Inc. for $1.5 billion, a 54% premium over the stock’s value since late August, when reports first surfaced that the company was seeking a buyer.
Seculert was founded in December 2009 by computer security veterans Ron Kraitsman (serves as CEO was previously the former CFO of Finjan software), Alex Milstein (COO), Aviv Raff (CTO) and Dudi Matot (VP Product) and is based in Israel.
I'm a former general partner at google ventures, head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe and founding head of Campus London, Google's first physical hub for startups.
I'm also the founder of Techbikers, a non-profit bringing together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read. Since inception in 2012 we've built 11 schools and 50 libraries in the developing world.
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