Vectra Networks Inc.

Vectra Networks is a U.S. business headquartered in San Jose, California, whose products monitor internal network traffic to identify in real time cyber-attacks that are in progress.

Investors include Accel Partners,^[1] as well as Khosla Ventures,^[2] IA Ventures,^[3] AME Cloud Ventures,^[4] Intel Capital^[5] and Juniper Networks.^[6]

Customers that use Vectra products include Fortune 50 companies and enterprises from finance, healthcare, technology, retail and higher education verticals.

History

Vectra Networks was incorporated in 2012. It was founded in 2010 as TraceVector LLC in New York City.

Key executives are Hitesh Sheth, chief executive officer, president and director; Oliver Tavakoli, chief technology officer; Alain Mayer, vice president of product management; Jason Kehl, vice president of engineering; Mike Banic, vice president of marketing; Rick Geehan, vice president of Americas sales; and Gerard Bauer, vice president of EMEA sales.^[7]

Board members include Charles Giancarlo, senior advisor to Silver Lake Partners; Brad Gillespie, general partner at IA Ventures; Jim Messina, founder and CEO of the Messina Group; and Eric Wolford from Accel Partners.^[8]

Products

Vectra products monitor internal network traffic in real-time to detect the presence of threat behaviors and attack techniques, including command-and-control communications, botnet monetization, internal reconnaissance, lateral movement, and data exfiltration. Vectra detects attacks that originate from external and internal sources.

During the monitoring process, Vectra analyzes internal and Internet-bound network traffic automatically on a continuing basis. Detected threats and malicious behaviors are correlated against potentially infected servers and computers. Information about an attacker’s actions inside a network is also analyzed.

The detection information collected by Vectra is contextually scored based on threat level and certainty, prioritized according to threats that pose the highest risk, and presented through a graphical user interface. This data is used by information security teams to mitigate or prevent loss.

Customers install, operate and centrally manage Vectra products in headquarters buildings, campus environments and remote branch offices.

Technology

Vectra technology combines data science, machine learning and behavioral analysis technologies to identify anomalies and patterns that characterize malicious behavior within a network. This technology does not use IPS signatures or reputation-based lists.

The combined technologies implemented by Vectra are complementary to perimeter network security products, such as firewalls, intrusion prevention systems and malware analysis sandboxes.

References

• Video: Are most companies in the dark on hacks?, MSN
• WSJ Survey Roundup - Cyber Scourge Spreads, Wall Street Journal
• Report: Every Company is Compromised, But most Infections Not yet at Critical Stage, ComputerWorld India
• Vectra Networks Crunchbase, Crunchbase