Cybersecurity and insurance platform startup Upfort today announced that it has raised $8 million in new funding to advance its goal to simplify the way brokers and insurers sell insurance and to shield its clients from cyberthreats.

Founded in 2017 and previously known as Paladin Cyber, Upfort provides a platform that unifies security and cyber insurance to deliver comprehensive cyber risk solutions, all managed through artificial intelligence.

On its cybersecurity side, Upforts offers holistic cyber protection that it claims is easy to deploy and manage. Cybersecurity services include email and web protection, security training and risk monitoring. AI is employed to anticipate and address risk more precisely with unique insights from large volumes of cyber insurance claims.

The company says its software blocks malicious sites, downloads and files, identifies vulnerabilities, misconfigurations and high-risk employees, and detects and responds to malicious network behavior. It also protects against wire transfer fraud, phishing and data breaches.

On the cyber insurance side, Upfort works with various insurance companies to find the best cyber insurance policies for its customers. In the event of an incident, it has experts on-call to assist with legal, forensics, extortion negotiation, public relations and credit monitoring.

The company cites a recent study found that policyholders who have fully implemented Upfort Shield saw significantly fewer security breaches and claims, with the likelihood of filing a claim decreasing by 80%.

SYN Ventures LLC led the Series A round, with Eniac Ventures LLC, Fika Ventures LLC, Altai Ventures LLC, Chaos Ventures LLC, Aquila Capital Partners LP, Gaingels Inc. and Cyber Mentor Fund LP also participating.

“Upfort was founded as a comprehensive cyber platform to safeguard businesses against evolving threats and new risks,” co-founder and Chief Executive Xing Xin said in a statement. “The new investment will enable us to build on these efforts as we continue our mission of accelerating the world’s journey toward cyber resilience.”

Image: Upfort