UPDATED 18:33 EDT / OCTOBER 11 2017

INFRA

Security startup Attivo Networks raises $21M for its ‘deception solutions’

Cybersecurity startup Attivo Networks Inc. announced today that it has raised $21 million in a third major financing.

The Series C round was led by Trident Capital Cybersecurity and also included participation by existing investors Bain Capital Ventures and Omidyar Technology Ventures, and it brings Attivo’s total funding to date to more than $45 million.

Founded in 2010, Attivo calls itself a “deception-based threat detection” service. Attivo uses security technology that relies on decoys to lure cyberattackers into revealing themselves, giving companies better insight into how hackers are attempting to access their systems.

“Achieving 100 percent security is not realistic,” Attivo Chief Executive Tushar Kothari said in a statement. “Organizations must know immediately when their perimeter security controls fail and be able to respond quickly. It is not enough to understand how an attacker attacks, you must also know how to defend and respond.”

As part of the funding deal, Trident Capital Cybersecurity Managing Director Alberto Yépez will be joining Attivo’s board. In a statement, Yépez called Attivo a “clear leader in the emerging space of deception solutions,” and he said that customers have praised the startup’s ability to “close detection gaps and easily integrate with their existing cybersecurity investment increasing their overall efficacy.”

Cybersecurity services have made some major leaps forward in the last few years thanks to advancements in machine learning and other emerging technologies, but a number of high profile attacks over the last year has proven that there are still plenty of vulnerable systems out there. In the last six months alone, the tech industry has been rocked by multiple high-profile attacks, including the WannaCry attack in May, the Petya attack in June, and more recently the massive Equifax breach that exposed the personal data of more than 143 million U.S. consumers.

While these attacks have been worrying for most companies, they have been something of a boon for companies like Attivo, as more and more investors are betting on cybersecurity tech. In the days following the first WannaCry attacks, cybersecurity shares surged almost across the board, with antivirus company Symantec Corp. alone adding $750 million to its market capitalization. More and more security startups are closing impressive funding rounds every month, and Attivo surely won’t be the last before the year is up.

Photo: System Lock via photopin (license)

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