CyberSense Announces $5 Million in Series A Funding, the Opening of Its Silicon Valley Headquarters Led by a Veteran Cybersecurity Leadership Team

MENLO PARK, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 25, 2014) -  CyberSense, a leading provider of cloud-based and on-premises cybersecurity solutions, today announced it has received $5 million in Series A funding from BRM Group and Opus Capital, experienced investment groups with portfolios spanning startups and established technology companies. CyberSense is led by cofounders Yaniv Alfi, CEO, Moshe Ben-Simon, vice president of services and research, and Yuval Malachi, co-founder and CTO. The founders have also announced the appointment of cybersecurity industry veteran Carl Wright as president and general manager, North America.

"Enterprises are under constant attack, overwhelmed with malware and losing stolen IP and customer data in unquantifiable volumes. The situation is costing the Global 2000 billions of dollars every year and is only getting worse," said Alfi. "CyberSense will use the investment to continue to develop advanced cybersecurity solutions that are helping some of the world's most-often-targeted organizations reduce the risk of costly and disruptive compromises, data breaches and compliance violations."

With the CyberSense360™ platform, Global 2000 enterprises are able to detect and analyze zero-day, undetected malware in use by the world's most Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) organizations, build threat profiles, utilize threat intelligence, block attacks and automatically remediate damage inflicted on IT ecosystems. CyberSense360 traps zero-day malware in its virtualized sensor network of honey pots and next-generation malware traps before the malware can inflict significant damage to customers' data centers or cloud deployments.

"Enterprises of all types and sizes are seeking cybersecurity solutions that can provide effective protection against malware-carrying APTs that penetrate deep into IT ecosystems and steal valuable data and trade secrets," said Dan Avida, general partner, Opus Capital. "Customer installations of the CyberSense360 solution have repeatedly detected and thwarted attacks that were not discovered by other products, which acts as proof that the solution is effective at addressing today's most active and menacing threats."

"Threats, advanced attackers and zero-day malware are increasing exponentially, as is the need for advanced solutions that can effectively detect and defend against all three," said Eran Barkat, partner, BRM Group. "Our firm is exposed to multiple cybersecurity software startups regularly, and we look to invest in those that are proving that they have the ability to meet the demands of global enterprises. CyberSense is among the most effective new providers we have seen in a while."

Executive Leadership Team
Yaniv Alfi, cofounder and CEO. Alfi is an entrepreneur and sales executive who has devoted his career to the field of cybersecurity. Most recently, he was founder and CEO of InnoVAD Solutions, which focuses on providing its customers with unsurpassed information security and products that support a complete secured information environment. Alfi was also territory manager, Israel, for McAfee; CTO of PF1 Systems Ltd., and technical support manager of Chief International. In addition, he was an instructor at John Bryce, the training division of Matrix, Israel's leading IT company. Alfi has also lectured on data security at Ramat-Gan College. He holds a B.A. in business and economics from Open University.

Moshe Ben-Simon, cofounder and vice president of services and research. An expert in cybersecurity, malware and other security topics, Ben-Simon was formerly CEO at Injection Security, head of the security consultant department at Ness Technologies and information security senior consultant at Comsec. While he served in the Israeli Air Force, Ben-Simon worked in the Network and Security Department. Ben-Simon is a graduate of Ort Braude College, where he studied electronic engineering and networking.

Yuval Malachi, co-founder and CTO. He has 15 years of experience in the field of information security, with an emphasis on advancing the era of malware analysis. Earlier, Malachi was founder and CTO of Zeroday Security, a security consulting company. Other positions he has held include security architect at Yoggie Security Systems, senior security consultant at Ness Technologies, and UNIX and security systems administrator at 103 Barak. Malachi holds a B.A. in management communication from Open University.

Carl Wright, president and general manager, North America. Wright is a seasoned entrepreneur and executive with experience in the security, storage, virtualization and software sectors. Prior to joining CyberSense he held executive operational roles at Securify, Decru and Kidaro, where he contributed to rapid growth and subsequent acquisition by Microsoft, Network Appliance and Secure Computing. He has extensive experience in all aspects of enterprise information technology deployments and has held key IT operational roles, including chief information security officer for the U.S. Marine Corps. He holds a bachelor's degree in management from Augsburg College and a master's degree in information technology management from the Naval Postgraduate School. In 1999, he was awarded the National Security Agency's Frank B. Rowlett Trophy by General Michael Hayden (U.S. Air Force Ret.) for Worldwide Information Security Professional of the year.

Learn More
During RSA Conference 2014, exhibit attendees can visit booth #1901, Moscone South Expo Hall, and learn how Teva Pharmaceuticals, Assuta Medical Center, Orbotech, Nova Measurement and Aspect Imaging reduce the risk of costly compliance violations and data breaches.

About Opus Capital
Opus Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm with more than $1 billion of committed capital under management, investing in committed, high-integrity entrepreneurs building market-leading technology companies. The team has participated in the successful outcomes of more than 80 companies (including 50 IPOs) in the U.S. and Israel, including Adaptec, AirGate PCS, Blue Nile, Brocade, Ciena, DoubleClick, Electronics for Imaging, FedEx, Genesys, Harmonic, Informatica, Kidaro and Vantive. Opus Capital is headquartered on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California.

About BRM Group
BRM Group is a privately held investment fund. We invest in the Israel-related hi-tech industry focusing on the Internet, software, mobile and mobile infrastructure; digital media; online services and enterprise software (business analytics, security) sectors; and the medical devices sector in seed and early stage startups as well as in pre-IPO private equity opportunities. BRM seeks out and invests in companies with truly revolutionary potential that can become significant market players, creating long-term value and offering entrepreneurs knowledge, networking and capital with best-of-market entrepreneur-friendly investment terms and a long-term, company-building focus. For more information, please visit: www.brm.com

About CyberSense
CyberSense is a leading provider of cloud-based and on-premises cybersecurity solutions. Some of the world's leading Global 2000 enterprises serving the financial services, national critical infrastructure, retail, healthcare, pharmaceutical and other industries rely on CyberSense to strengthen their IT ecosystems and reduce the risk of costly and disruptive compromises, data breaches and compliance violations. With the CyberSense360 platform, Global 2000 enterprises are able to detect and analyze zero-day, undetected malware in use by the world's most destructive Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) organizations, build threat profiles, block attacks and automatically remediate damage inflicted on IT ecosystems. CyberSense360 traps zero-day malware in its virtualized sensor network of honey pots and next-generation malware traps before the malware can inflict significant damage to customers' data centers or cloud deployments.