DefenseStorm raises $15 million for automated cybersecurity and compliance solutions
Georgia-based cybersecurity and compliance management startup DefenseStorm today revealed that it has closed a $15 million series A round led by Georgian Partners. CEO Harold Brewer says the DefenseStorm team will work with the firm’s Georgian Impact team to accelerate adoption of applied AI and will tap its expertise to further develop DefenseStorm’s solutions suite and build out its sales and engineering team.
“DefenseStorm is growing rapidly, and our primary goal is not only to ensure that we take care of both our current and potential customers, but also that we invest in our employees and the innovation they continue to bring to the table,” said Brewer. “We are thrilled to have the support of the Georgian Impact team and look forward to a lasting partnership benefitting the entire cybersecurity community.”
DefenseStorm, which was founded in May 2014 and which had attracted investments totaling nearly $15 million prior to this latest round, is focused on clients in banking and financial services, sectors it asserts are disproportionately targeted by cybercriminals. (DefenseStorm pegs the number of potential cyberattacks on high-value bank and credit union targets at 20 million per day.) The company’s platform consolidates security data from multiple sources and susses out anomalies with AI, enabling IT leaders to oversee operations in real time. And its threat-ready active compliance team of cybersecurity experts help define things like rules of engagement, workflow, and triage processes.
Drawing on a bespoke software library, DefenseStorm clients can create cybersecurity triggers specific to division or organization-wide needs, or work with DefenseStorm’s team to hone in on the most important indicators of breach and compromise. Dashboards within Grid, the company’s premier product, enable users to schedule tasks, fiddle with settings to minimize false positives, and review their organization’s risk profiles. And on the compliance side of the equation, Grid lets managers connect policies for regulatory frameworks (like FFIEC CAT) and regulations with control points and definitions.
DefenseStorm’s current customers include Canvas Credit Union, Citizens National Bank of Texas, Live Oak Bank, Lusitania Savings Bank, nCino, Peach State, and Washington Trust Bank. For one unnamed client, the company claims that during a distributed denial-of-service attack, its system ingested over 9 million events in just nine minutes.
“We are very excited to be partnering with DefenseStorm through this new investment and our R&D collaboration,” said Georgian Partners chief technology officer and partner Mads Mihailescu. “The combination of DefenseStorm’s deep domain expertise and our own expertise in trust … has already identified a number of opportunities to further accelerate new product capabilities.”
In addition to its headquarters in Atlanta, DefenseStrom has offices in Seattle, Washington.
Source: VentureBeat
