Riot Security Inc., a startup that helps enterprises improve the cybersecurity posture of their employees, has raised $30 million in funding to support its growth efforts.

The Paris-based company said in its announcement of the deal today that Left Lane Capital was the lead investor. Returning backers Y Combinator, Base10 and FundersClub chipped in as well. TechCrunch reported that the Series B round values Riot at $170 million. 

Riot provides an employee cybersecurity platform that comprises four main components. The first is a tool that enables companies to send simulated phishing emails to workers in order to identify cybersecurity gaps. It provides more than 400 phishing email templates along with spoofed domains, or domains that closely resemble the URLs of legitimate companies’ websites.

An analytics dashboard displays how many employees open the simulated phishing emails, how many divulge their login credentials and the amount of time it takes them to do so. For added measure, Riot analyzes the submitted login credentials to find weak passwords. Companies can use the data collected by the platform to find ways of improving employees’ cybersecurity practices.

Riot provides a three-minute training course that teaches employees about the risks of phishing. Workers also have access to a chatbot called Albert, the second major component of Riot’s platform. Albert displays cybersecurity explainers and suggests settings that employees can change to make their accounts less susceptible to hacking. 

The platform also includes two other tools. The first detects when employee data leaks online as a result of cyberattacks, while the second tool enables workers to report malicious emails to the information technology team. Administrators can review those messages in a centralized interface and block the malicious domains from which they were sent.

“Hackers are leveraging the latest innovations in artificial intelligence to create extremely targeted and sophisticated attacks capable of deceiving the most vigilant employees,” said co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Netter. “Our goal with Riot is to protect more than 10 million employees by 2027.”

Riot says that its platform currently protects about 1 million workers across more than 1,500 companies. Those companies include Mistral AI and Y Combinator, one of the participants in the software maker’s latest $30 million funding round. Riot says its annual revenue topped $10 million last year. 

The company will use the new capital to double its headcount over the next 12 months. In parallel, it plans to open two new international offices and accelerate feature development efforts. It’s developing new cybersecurity training capabilities along with enhancements to its existing phishing campaign simulation tool.

Photo: Riot Security