Cylance Inc.
 | |
| Industry | Computer security |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Stuart McClure, Ryan Permeh |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Services | Anti-virus, Anti-malware |
| Website |
www |
Cylance Inc. is an American software firm founded in 2012. It develops antivirus programs and other kinds of computer software that prevent, rather than reactively detect, viruses and malware. The company is based in Irvine, California.[1] Cylance has been described as “the first company to apply artificial intelligence, algorithmic science and machine learning to cyber security.”[2]
Cylance executives have stated their mission is to block computer viruses or malware before they have an effect on a user's computer.[2]
Founding
Cylance was founded by Stuart McClure and Ryan Permeh. McClure was previously co-founder of Foundstone, a security consultancy, which he sold to McAfee in 2004, becoming that firm's Chief Tech Officer.[3] McClure is also the author of Hacking Exposed, reportedly the best-selling IT security book to date.[4]
Cylance's founding came about as a result of McClure's speeches he had previously given on cybersecurity, where he was often asked how he protected his own computer. He noted that he lacked trust in any security technology since it was all reactive in nature, meaning it only cleaned up after an attack. Consequently, McClure began developing a technology based on "proactive protection".[4]
People
McClure is co-founder, CEO, and President of Cylance. Permeh is co-founder and Chief Scientist. Jeff Ishmael is CFO. Shane Shook is Chief Knowledge Officer and Global Vice President of Consulting. Malcolm Harkins is Global Chief Information Security Officer.[1]
In March 2016, Cylance named Silicon Valley lawyer Brady Berg as its General Counsel and human-resources executive Vina Leite as its Chief People Officer.[5]
Funding
Initial funding of $15 million was reported February 2013 with another $20 million in February 2014.[6] A July 2015 report indicated that Cylance had raised additional $42 million from such investors as DFJ Growth, KKR, Dell Ventures, CapitalOne Ventures, and TenEleven Ventures.[3] It further received a $100 million in June 2016 with lead investors Blackstone Tactical Opportunities (part of larger Blackstone Group) and Insight Venture Partners.[7]
Products
CylancePROTECT is “an antivirus and application control solution for fixed-function devices that leverages artificial intelligence to detect and prevent malware from executing on endpoints in real time.”[1] CylanceV is “a solution for local integration into network appliances, endpoint software, and services platforms.”[1]
The firm also provides “incident response, compromise assessments, forensic investigations, industrial control systems, critical infrastructure and key resource security, penetration testing, and custom services.”[1]
Product Features
McClure stated that Cylance's antivirus product does not use typical security features, such as unique signatures, heuristics, behavioral analysis, sandboxing, virtualization, or blacklisting. Rather, the product uses artificial intelligence to identify and stop attackers. McClure stated that Cylance security features are similar to the human brain's identifying of threats, wherein it "teaches" computers to identify indicators of an attack.[3]
Operation Cleaver
Operation Cleaver was a covert cyberwarfare operation carried out by the Iranian government against targets around the world, specifically critical infrastructure entities. Cylance uncovered the operation and described it in a report released in late 2014. Iranian officials rejected Cylance's conclusions, but the FBI tacitly confirmed them.[8][9][10]
MOTEX Collaboration
In May 2016, Cylance announced a new collaboration with MOTEX, an Osaka-based firm, to integrate MOTEX LanScope, an endpoint security management, and CylancePROTECT, Cylance’s leading product, which actively detects and prevents malware. The end product will be called CylancePROTECT Cat. This collaboration brings Cylance's activities into the Japanese market.[2]
Honors and Awards
In July 2016, McClure was named Orange County Entrepreneur of the Year in the category of technology.[4]
In 2016, Cylance was ranked #23 on the Forbes Cloud 100 list.[11]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Snapshots – Cylance". Bloomberg.com.
- 1 2 3 Guru, Sagganik; Khyati, Jain (May 12, 2016). "U.S. based Cylance Inc. and Japan’s MOTEX Unite to Establish Advanced Cyber Threat Prevention Solutions in Japan". Cyber Secure India.
- 1 2 3 Hackett, Robert (Jul 28, 2015). "Cylance raises $42 million for AI-based security software". Fortune Magazine.
- 1 2 3 "EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Orange County". Smart Business Online. Jul 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Cylance Expands Executive Team to Support Rapid Company Growth". PR Newswire. Mar 31, 2016.
- ↑ "Cylance Funding Rounds". crunchbase.com. Crunchbase Inc. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
- ↑ "Cylance Announces $100 Million Series D Funding Round Led by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Insight Venture Partners". Wallstreet-online.de. Wallstreet:Online AG. 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
- ↑ Plummer, Quinten (December 15, 2014). "Operation Cleaver is Bigger Threat than Previously Thought, FBI Warns US Businesses". Tech Times. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ↑ Bertrand, Natasha (December 8, 2014). "Iran Is Officially A Real Player In The Global Cyber War". Business Insider. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ↑ Riley, Michael A; Robertson, Jordan (December 2, 2014). "Iran-Backed Hackers Target Airports, Carriers: Report". Bloomberg News. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ↑ "Forbes Cloud 100". Forbes. Retrieved 17 November 2016.