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No interview today but I’ve got a few exciting guests coming up. Lots of activity in both the public and private cybersecurity markets this week. Check out the highlights below and thanks for reading!
Microsoft Signs LOI to Acquire Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) Adallom for $320M
- Adallom was founded in 2012 and was funded by Sequoia and Index Ventures among others. Microsoft’s purchase is the first major acquisition in the CASB space although the space has seen a lot of venture activity.
Palantir Raising $500M at a $20B Valuation
- The New York Times reported in March 2014 that the company was expecting to bring in around $1B in 2014 revenue.
- The company lost 32.6M in 2014 on $77M in revenue (28% YoY growth). It now trades at 10.7X LTM revenue! I interviewed Rapid7 founder Alan Matthews a few months ago.
DarkTrace Raises $22.5M from Summit
- The London-based company uses machine-learning technology to detect anomalous activity within the organization. The funding apparently values the company at $100M.
- Also see: Why 23 month old DarkTrace is Worth more than $100M
Fortinet Delivers “Eye-Popping” Second Quarter
- The company beat Wall Street Q2 Top Line, Billings, and Bottom Line estimates.
- Proofpoint also had a great quarter.
- The Israel-based firm provides network forensics. One of the firm’s selling points is that its network forensics reports are understandable for even less-technical employees.
Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway
- Hackers demonstrate to the Wired writer how they are able to exploit a Jeep’s software to remotely change the car’s radio station, display pictures on the dashboard, and cut the transmission.
HP Study Shows that SmartWatches are especially Vulnerable to Security Threats
- The study found that 3 out of 10 smartwatches available for sale were vulnerable to account harvesting–meaning that hackers could gain access to their operating systems. Where’s that IoT security that everyone is talking about?
Ashly Madison, Website for Cheating Spouses, Hacked
- Account data for 37 million users was compromised. The hackers, who call themselves the “Impact Team” have demanded that the company shut down operations, or it will release all of the users’ data.
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