Israeli cybersecurity startup LayerX Security Ltd. is exiting stealth mode today armed with $7.5 million in seed funding.

It’s pitching a “user-first” web browser security offering that’s designed to prevent malware infections and prevent so-called “phishing” attacks that result in data loss and compromised passwords. Today’s funding round was led by Glilot Capital Partners and Kmehin Ventures, and saw participation from Mastercard Inc.’s FinSec Innovation Lab, Enel X, Int3, GuideStar and a host of angel investors.

LayerX is the creator of Plexus engine, a browser security platform that performs high-resolution monitoring for every possible browsing-based risk. The platform can detect every kind of browser-based threat, such as malware, fake websites, scam emails and more, helping to ease the concerns of security administrators.

There are several secure browsers on the market with features for blocking malicious web traffic. Additionally, several companies offer tools that block online threats by opening web pages in a cloud-based sandbox rather than on employee devices. According to LayerX, such offerings can be difficult to use for workers and sometimes slow web page loading times.

LayerX argues that its extension-based approach provides a better user experience than the competition.

One of its big advantages is that it works with any kind of web browser — Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi and more — so companies don’t have to worry about adjusting their existing browser preferences. In this way, LayerX claims it can transform any browser into a highly secure and customizable workspace, without compromising the user experience, performance or privacy.

The secret sauce behind LayerX is its dual artificial intelligence engine that runs on both the client side and the backend. Using advanced machine learning algorithms, Plexus can monitor for threats, carry out risk analysis, and provide browser control to prevent any infiltrations.

The company reckons its solution is necessary because the humble web browser remains one of the favorite attack surfaces for hackers. It’s while browsing the internet and using web-based email clients that employees are often tricked into downloading malware or giving away sensitive information such as passwords and login credentials. Moreover, web browsers enable data to flow outside organizations without any restrictions.

The concern is heightened because most network security platforms do not provide adequate browser security, LayerX says. Their failure to analyze web traffic to dynamic web applications and modern websites properly is a major weak spot. Previous efforts to solve these problems, such as specialized, secure browsers and sandboxing environments, are inadequate because they can hurt the user experience.

It’s for this reason that LayerX bills itself as a “user-first” browser security platform. It provides strong security without forcing users to change the way they work, explained LayerX co-founder and Chief Executive Or Eshed.

“Chrome and Safari aren’t the problem, as these web browsers are perfectly built for productivity and security,” he said. “It’s the interaction of the users over the web browsers that pose a threat to organizations. Our technology focuses on deep session analysis, adding that pivotal extra layer of security needed to keep browsers truly safe.”

Glilot Capital Partners founder and Managing Partner Kobi Samboursky said the move to the cloud has meant that the browser is the most important and commonly-used tool for almost everyone in the modern workplace. “It’s clear that a new security layer must be added to protect sessions and provide visibility and control to security teams,” he said. “On the other hand, organizations must grant employees 100% privacy and flexibility to use any tool they desire. This is what’s so exciting about the LayerX platform.”

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