5 Disruptive Cybersecurity Startups That Are Changing the Industry
Accelerated digital innovation has catapulted the world into unprecedented growth. But this age of disruption has also created numerous opportunities for hackers and cybercriminals.
Big stories like the Cambridge Analytica fiasco and government offices getting hacked are all over the news – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Research from advisory firm Gartner predicts that companies are facing up to $5.2 trillion in added cost and profit loss from cyber attacks in the next 5 years. High-tech industries followed by life sciences and automotive are the most at risk. This is why cybersecurity has become a top priority for most businesses.
This phenomenon is compounded by the fact that there is a widening gap between the number of cybersecurity experts and the unfilled positions in the industry. Industry analysis by Maryville University shows that the shortfall for cybersecurity experts reached 1.5 million back in 2016. Today, IT security organization ISC Squared puts this number at 2.93 million. In short, the current shortage of cybersecurity professionals is nearly twice as bad as it was just 3 years ago.
It should come as no surprise that startups that focus on cybersecurity solutions are some of the most sought after. In fact, Strategic Cyber Ventures reports that cybersecurity startups got at least $5.3 billion in venture capital funding last year. With the cybersecurity landscape becoming more dynamic, these are 5 of the startups that are making a lot of noise in the industry:
CalypsoAI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is leading the way in innovation in nearly all vital industries today. Startup CalypsoAI focuses on making your machine learning tools secure. As most AI deployed today are vulnerable to cyber attacks, this Los Angeles-based company promises to solve potential issues without increasing the risks. Their main goal is to allow businesses to leverage AI without worries of attacks.
Cymulate
Founded in 2016, this Israel-based startup recently closed a $7.5 million Series A funding with Dell Capital and Vertex Ventures at the helm. As the name suggests, Cymulate enables companies to simulate attacks on their own systems without compromising current operations. This offensive attitude gives businesses an edge as they are able to predict future cyber attacks.
Vectra
Raising a total of $122.74 million, Vectra is one of the hottest startups for VCs. The company leverages AI and ML to detect and assess risks in enterprise environments. While this is nothing new, Vectra’s proprietary technology is appropriate to today’s business architectures. One of the key features of their technology is customizability and scalability – the ability to add and cut cybersecurity tools as necessary. Covering on-premise, cloud, and VM systems, Vectra protects data comprehensively.
Darktrace
Founded by mathematicians from the University of Cambridge and government experts, Darktrace is a force to be reckoned with. With more than 5 years of leading the AI-driven cybersecurity space, Darktrace’s threat detection system has already identified a total of 60,000 different threats. The startup specializes in detecting unusual activities in networks with huge user bases. By using AI to learn what ‘normal’ user behaviors are, their proprietary autonomous response technology Darktrace Antigena can flag risks and allow their clients to act accordingly.
Illusive Networks
Another Israel-based cybersecurity startup, Illusive Networks has raised a total of $30 million in Series A and B funding. Their technology takes threat detection and proactive data protection to another level. The proprietary program of Illusive Networks targets advanced and persistent threats. By providing false information while concealing any relevant data, their system can lure hackers into possible apprehension or produce invaluable breach forensics data. Receiving many awards in the past, Illusive Networks is currently used by over 50,000 users in leading companies.
As cybercrimes continue to rise with increasingly complex and persistent attacks, the cybersecurity space will keep growing. While innovations are driven by technological disruptions, cybersecurity provides the stability companies need to keep pace.
Article Written by Dreamit contributing writer R. Galsworthy.
