Area 1 Security Launches from Stealth to Preempt Targeted Phishing Attacks

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Area 1 Security, a cybersecurity company dedicated to eliminating targeted phishing attacks, today launched its product, Horizon, from stealth after two years of research and development to unveil a new, preemptive approach to fighting cyber attacks. Founded by senior ex-NSA security and big data analytics experts, Area 1 Security has been building out its preemptive security model for the past two years. The company has raised $25.5 million from top-tier investors, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and Icon Ventures. The company will demonstrate Horizon publicly for the first time at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit on June 13-16, 2016.

The vast majority of breaches happen through targeted phishing attacks -- email and web lures that use social engineering to convince people to take an inadvertent action giving attackers access to the network and data. Unlike traditional cybersecurity solutions that attempt to identify attacks at the enterprise edge or within the network after breach, Area 1 Horizon discovers and stops attacks well before infiltration, by taking action at the point of attack planning or attack origin.

"The current cybersecurity mantra is largely reactive in nature: detect and isolate an attack and then limit the damage," said Oren Falkowitz, CEO and co-founder of Area 1. "Attackers aren't waiting, and we need to start thinking like them if we are going to solve the cybercrime problem. Our approach of meeting them where they are, predicting their actions and stopping them at the earliest phase of their attacks effectively stops them in their tracks."

Inoculating Against Targeted Phishing Attacks
Targeted phishing attacks take anywhere from weeks, months or even years of advance planning by motivated threat actors. But once a phishing attack hits a user, the attack campaign is already underway and it is too late to stop. By focusing on when and how these attacks are being formed and from where they are being delivered, Area 1 preempts them from infiltrating target systems and causing damage.

Area 1 built its proprietary global ActiveSensor™ network to work alongside a sophisticated small pattern analytics engine (SPARSE™) to proactively identify emergent stages of targeted phishing attacks and neutralize them. This technology is now deployed by some of the most sophisticated security organizations in the world.

Since January 1, 2016 when the product became available in early preview, Area 1's analysis of 2.15 million phishing attacks shows U.S.-based infrastructure as the majority source (approximately 64%), even when the Actor itself is a foreign entity. The rest of the attacks were distributed globally with no other country contributing to more than 5% of the total attack surface -- signifying a massive asymmetry in where these attacks originate.

Even before Area 1 launched its product, it gained early recognition by Gartner as a Gartner Cool Vendor. The company also has numerous strategic technology partners including firewall, email and web gateway vendors so the service can easily be integrated into existing security investments enterprises have in place. Spanning a variety of verticals, the company's clients include financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and professional services companies.

"Area 1 understands that defensive measures alone are insufficient in today's threat environment, offering customers the visibility necessary and a significant time advantage to take proactive measures against attackers," said Ted Schlein, general partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. "Their approach of attack preemption is unique and can materially change the existing cybersecurity status quo for enterprises, that are losing sensitive data and IP daily to phishing attacks."

Area 1 will present "The Case for Preemption in Cybersecurity" at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit Thursday, June 16 at 9:15am. Learn more at www.Area1Security.com.

About Area 1 Security
Based in Redwood City, CA, Area 1 Security is focused on preempting targeted phishing attacks. Led by security and data analytics experts from NSA, U.S. Cyber Command, Cisco/IronPort and FireEye, Area 1 has raised $25.5 million in total funding to date. Investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Allegis Capital, Cowboy Ventures; Data Collective (DCVC); First Round Capital; RedSeal Networks' CEO and former Venrock partner Ray Rothrock; and Shape Security CEO Derek Smith. Pixels (a pug beagle) and Emmett (a 3-toed box turtle) are also members of the Area 1 team, along with the rest of the thriving pet population. Area 1 maintains a strict no-phish policy at all times.

Area 1 Security Media Contact
Rachael Cassidy
415-636-5407
[email protected]

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SOURCE Area 1 Security

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