Security Roundup: Funding Frenzy, Barracuda, Fake Email Barrage
… joint marketing initiatives internally.
“It will also help us build our partner resources and expand the capabilities of partners to work with their customers to build that human layer,” he said. “We are currently working with partners to create better tools for them, upgrading our partner program to make it easier for them to assist their customer base in securing their organizations and improving their security posture. Security threats like phishing and ransomware continue to grow. Partners have to manage these issues, and the more successful their customers are in fending off these threads, the better the partner does. We are adding assessments of security culture, which will help partners zero in on the most effective ways to help their customers.”
The funding allows KnowBe4 to add tools and reduce partner overhead or investment even more when setting up programs for their customers, Jennings said.
“2019 is on track to be another record year for KnowBe4, which is experiencing accelerating growth at significant scale,” said Stephen Shanley, director at KKR. “We see KnowBe4 as a category-defining asset driving significant impact within a critical vertical of cybersecurity and are very excited to extend our support in this new round of financing.”
Critical Start, which provides managed detection and response (MDR) services, has raised a $40 million minority investment from Sagemount, a growth equity firm. This first-ever outside investment for the company will be used to expand its MDR services nationally – including new field offices in Los Angeles and New York City – to serve enterprise customers and its network of channel and cybersecurity tech partners.
Rob Davis, Critical Start’s CEO, tells us the funding will allow his company to invest in expanded marketing, training and support programs for its partners, which will help them in selling MDR service to end users.
“We will also continue to add technology partners, and double the size of our research and development team, which will give our partners a broader range of security capabilities to offer to their customers,” he said. “For example, we recently announced a collaboration with Microsoft, and partnerships with Chronicle and Palo Alto Networks. We also have invested in a graphical user interface (GUI) redesign for our Zero-Trust Analytics Platform (ZTAP) and launched new versions of our MobileSOC app on iOS and Android.”
Critical Start will be able to research new technologies and offer expanded functionality faster to keep up with market demands, Davis said.
“It will also help expedite our expansion into the East and West Coast markets,” he said. “In the event a strategic acquisition or partnership aligns with our strategy and market needs, we are positioned to add new technology or capabilities to our MDR service, which is a key competitive differentiator for us.”
Cyber Observer has secured $8 million in Series B funding from Merlin International and has launched its expansion into the North American cybersecurity market with an internal cyber hygiene platform.
Cyber Observer provides continuous monitoring and insights that allow an organization to ensure cyber hygiene, compliance to frameworks, and optimized tool configuration across an organization’s security ecosystem with a single solution.
Edgewise Networks, a microsegmentation platform based on software identity, announced …