SafeBreach Inc. takes a vastly different approach to network protection than most cybersecurity providers. The Sunnyvale, California-based startup sells software that enables companies to probe their systems for weak points using the same tactics an attacker might employ as part of a hacking campaign.

SafeBreach today announced that its unusual approach has attracted $15 million in venture capital. The round was led by early-stage fund Draper Nexus.

The startup describes its namesake offering as a breach and attack simulation platform. The software allows companies to test the resilience of their infrastructure using a playbook of over 3,400 hacking methods covering malware, brute-force attacks and other common tactics.

Security teams can use this playbook to test a variety of breach scenarios. An engineer could, for example, test if malware on a hacked employee desktop would have a way of spreading to other devices on the corporate network. Or they might perform an assessment to see how well a sensitive business application is protected against data theft attempts.

SafeBreach’s platform carries out tests using lightweight simulators that it says don’t interfere with day-to-day work. The results are fed back to a monitoring console that can flag the most urgent issues, as well as provide recommendations on how to fix them.

Another key feature is support for what SafeBreach calls continuous simulation. Essentially, companies can use the software to rerun tests when they change one of their security systems in order to make sure that the update didn’t create an opening for hackers.

More and more organizations are taking interest in SafeBreach’s approach, with the startup claiming to have seen bookings increase 470 percent last year. Among the companies using its software is PayPal Holdings Inc., which participated in today’s round alongside Draper Nexus.

They were joined by returning investors Sequoia Capital, Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.’s Pathfinder venture capital arm. SafeBreach has raised a total of $34 million in funding to date.

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