Synack Receives $7.5 Million to Develop Cybersecurity Methods

Fledgling cybersecurity firm Synack has received an additional $7.5 million in funding from investors to further develop its stealth enterprise-grade technology and security software. Synack’s latest round of funding brings the total amount of capital raised to $9 million since being founded less than a year ago.

Former senior National Security Agency (NSA) analysts founded Synack with the goal of improving traditional security models by combining crowd security intelligence with technology to address the ever-changing security needs of the enterprise. The company’s latest round of funding was lead by several investors, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) as well as Google Ventures and existing investors Greylock Partners, Allegis Capital and Derek Smith, the CEO of Shape Security. Synack will also utilize the funding to continue certifying its cybersecurity experts, according to the press release.

“The only way to defend against the influx of sophisticated cyberattacks is to combine advanced technology with human interaction to deliver quality and highly effective results at scale,” said Jay Kaplan, CEO of Synack, in a prepared statement. “Since we launched nine months ago, we have recruited some of the most elite, respected, and well-known security researchers in the world and worked with enterprise customers across financial services, health care, education and retail. The new funds will help us continue recruiting the best global security talent and further develop our technology platform.”

Synack noted the investment validates its approach to addressing the advanced security threats to the enterprise that are prevalent in today’s computing environment. Kaplan told VentureBeat that Synack sets itself apart by essentially paying hackers to “hack for good” by exposing security threats for cash rewards. 

With the promise of real money for their expertise in exposing system flaws, Kaplan said Synack’s model allows some hackers to do what they love while getting paid legally, essentially “turning bad actors into good actors.” And with the prevalence of new security flaws such as Heartbleed causing disruptions to the status quo, Synack’s business model seems more pertinent than ever as enterprise companies continue to fight back against data leaks.