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Imperva

Imperva- A business venture of Shlomo Kramer who is Godfather of Israeli cybersecurity

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Cybersecurity is becoming the interest of many researchers and top entrepreneurs focusing on this area. In fact, it is important to spread awareness about cybersecurity, and many firms working in this as Imperva do. It is a California based cybersecurity firm working in this field since 2000. However, the firm has been delivering excellent protection to application software and data of several enterprises. Shlomo Kramer, A. Shulman, and Mickey Boodaei set up Imperva to enable security for both data as well as applications.

About the founder of Imperva- Shlomo Kramer

A well-known entrepreneur and tech person, Shlomo Kramer has been working in the field of security for a long time. He belongs to Israel where he recognized as one of the top investors and businessmen in Information Technology. Imperva is one of the companies co-founded by Shlomo. Apart from that, he is a founder of the Checkpoint, Cato networks. These all are deal with cybersecurity. However, he also invested in several startups including Palo Alto Networks, Lacoon Mobile Security, Trusteer, Watchdox, etc.

Achievements of Shlomo

Shlomo is one of the top entrepreneurs of Israel. He helped the nation in the field of cybersecurity. For his work, several authorities and organizations praised him. In 2006, he was on the list of 20 luminaries who changed the network industry. Network World Magazine selected him in this list. As well, SC magazine named him as the CEO of the year in 2008. 7 years back, Shlomo inducted into the Infosecurity Europe Hall of Fame in 2013.

Early Life

Shlomo loves technology more than anything else, which can be seen from activities in his life. During young age, Kramer designed and sold video games. He has been familiar with mainframe and other technologies since then. At the age of 15, he worked at a Tel Aviv shop, he used to sell personal computers in there. Kramer’s passion for technology strengthen when he heard about 17 years old game developer. Thereafter, he never looked back and tried his best to do the best in this field.

Education

He has a master’s degree in computer science. For that, he went to Hebrew University Jerusalem. Also, he has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science at Tel Aviv University. While studying, he served in the defense force of Israel. Shlomo worked in cybersecurity and intelligence team, that time, he learned analysis and decryption of data. Being a part of the Israel Defense Force’s intelligence team helped Shlomo to develop as a high-tech entrepreneur.

Early Businesses

Shlomo is recognized as Godfather of Israeli Cybersecurity, and an unstoppable entrepreneur to achieve success with each business venture. However, to reach this point has a long story. It all started in 1993 with the establishment of Checkpoint Software technologies. With this startup, he helped to the introduced first firewall in the global market. Kramer became an international leader in protecting the information on the internet.

The first company gave him huge success, and the market value of the firm raised unbelievably. Knowing the fact that how to invest money, he grabs this opportunity and left the checkpoint and raised money from this deal. Further, he used this money to invest in other businesses as well as to start his own firm.

Investments

Kramer is not only a good entrepreneur but also he is an investor. He has been working in the field of data security and helped several start-ups to explore the businesses. Shlomo is investors in the firms including Insert, SafeBreach, TopSpin Security, Splacer, Alicanto, and many more.

The backstory of Founding Imperva

After leaving the Checkpoint, he set up Imperva with Mickey and Shulman in 2002. It is set up for perimeter defenses like firewalls. However, the focus of the firm shifted toward application and data security software.

Exploring the businesses of Imperva

In 2011, Imperva jumped into the stock market and its initial public offering raised 90 million dollars. As well, the shares of the company gained up to 33% on its first day. Thereafter, the firm acquired a cloud security startup called Skyfence. Kramer always focused on investing in cloud-based security startups. Because of his optimistic views in the data security field. In fact, this acquisition helped Imperva to extend its data security through the cloud. However, Skyfence is sold for 40 million dollars to Forcepoint in 2017.

Imperva introduced a free scanner for detecting infected devices in 2016. Moreover, the firm purchased a data masking company called Camouflage in 2017.

Also Read: Gill Shwed: The Israeli Inventor & the Pioneer of the Cybersecurity

lifelock

Lifelock- Fighting Against Cybercrime Since 2005

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There are always two sides to a coin. If an innovation appears as a boon to our world, much time is not taken to manipulate it and use it otherwise. With the advent of the internet, our world has developed in terms of tech. Many companies have been founded in the IT sectors, economic growth has also increased, and communication has become easier. With the transmission of data, data storage, etc the risk of data leaking is of utmost importance. Because when a person’s data is all over the net, anyone can take advantage of it. Many companies and also government agencies provide cybersecurity. LifeLock is an American software company that provides services for preventing identity theft.

Identity theft is a category of cybercrime in which an individual tries to take financial advantage mostly through someone’s identity. Robert J. Maynard and Todd Davis founded the company in 2005 with more than 600 employees. The company’s headquarters are currently based in Arizona, United States.

Robert J. Maynard

Robert is a famous American businessman who has also co-founded Internet America, an internet service provider and several other companies.

Born in 1962, Robert served in the US Marine Corps as well as the US Reserve Army before attending college. He went to Northern Arizona University in 1985 and excelled in academics. He won many awards during this time and gained recognition. Robert founded Internet America in the late 1990s and it became a huge success. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the early 2000s.

Todd Davis

Todd went to Baylor University and received his bachelor’s degree in business in 1990. After completing his bachelor’s he worked for many start-ups as a part of their executive management team. In 1992, he joined Dell and he also received the Dell Vision Award. In 2002, Todd founded his own company, Marketing Champions and served as the CEO.

In 2005, Todd along with Robert co-founded LifeLock and Todd served as the CEO of the company till 2016. In 2016, he stepped down from the position and became the executive vice-chairman of the Board of Directors.

Apart from being a successful businessman, Todd is also a very good speaker and a philanthropist. In 2009, he received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and came in the list of one of the most admired CEO in 2009.

The Beginning

LifeLock works to provide services like identity authentication monitor the credit applications of the customers and protect the accounts from identity theft. The company also monitors real-time data from account openings and sends notifications or alerts in case of dual checking. When the duo founded the company they only had a seed funding of $2 million.

Investors

In the next year, the company received a funding of $5 million from Bessemer Ventures. And, additional $6 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Buyers in 2007. The company, within two years of its establishment, landed some impressive investors. Apart from these investors, others include River Street Management, Goldman Sachs Group, etc.

After receiving $25 million in Series C funding, the company raised another $40 million in Series D funding. In 2012, the company raised another $100 million from existing investors.

Also Read: Flipboard: An Application that Creates Digitalised Magazine With Curated Contents

Upside Down

Robert left the company in 2007 after he was the victim of identity theft. It is a point of huge controversy when the founder of a cyber protection company falls prey to such crimes. After this incident, maybe to save the face loss of the company, Todd made his social security number public. But, after this move, his banking system was attacked more than thirteen times.

Acquisitions and Partnerships

In December 2008, LifeLock signed an agreement with TransUnion for sending alert messages to customers in case of odd activity. LifeLock acquired ID Analytics in 2012. The company also went public in 2012 offering its initial IPO at $175 million. This year, Hilary Schneider joined LifeLock as its President.

In the next few years, LifeLock acquired Lemon Wallet for $42.6 million and Symantec for $2.3 billion.

In 2015, the company was charged $100 million as a fine for failing to secure its customer’s privacy. There have been many controversies after Robert resigned from the company. But, the company also received many awards such as Grand Steve Award for two consecutive years (2012 & 2013). LifeLock also acquired the eighth position in the list of Inc magazine in 2010.

Fortinet

Fortifying Your Networks: This Volleyball-loving 6’5 Entrepreneur Runs a $13 Billion Dollar Business

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We all rely on the Internet for most of our things. Everything from our family photos to important work details is on the Internet. Therefore, we need to be sure that they are in safe hands. So, how do we make sure that our data is safe? Well, Cybersecurity software helps us with this by using a combination of measures such as firewalls, privacy protection, and anti-virus software. Thanks to high-profile data breaches, malicious hacks, and extortion scams, maintaining good Cyber-measures has become a priority for companies. This time, we will be taking a look at one of the most prominent Cybersecurity firms in the world. Here’s how Fortinet founder Ken Xie helps to make the world wide web a safer, better place!

About the Founders

Ken Xie did his electrical engineering from Stanford and started his first Cyber-security firm named SIS while in college. One of his early ventures was bought by Juniper for $4 billion, and two decades later, his company is worth $13 billion, exceeding that of Juniper! Meanwhile, Michael Xie, who serves as the firm’s president and CTO, did his electrical engineering from the University of Manitoba. Ken is also a gifted athlete, who wanted to be a professional volleyball player while growing up. He stands tall at six feet and five inches, but his parents who worked at the Tsinghua University in China didn’t agree with his career plan. Instead, they got him interested in engineering and Xie’s life transformed.

A Family Initiative

Brothers Michael and Ken Xie founded Fortinet in 2000, by launching their first firewall Fortigate. They then added new features such as wireless access points, messaging options and sandboxing in later years. Within three years, the company raised more than $90 million in funding. Fortinet went public in 2009, after raising over $156 million through its IPO. Fortinet released its Security Fabric system in 2016, and since then, the product has added several new features such as IoT and WAN.

Earlier Efforts

Before starting Fortinet, Ken Xie founded NetScreen, while Michael Xie was as an executive at ServeGate. The duo built Appligation Inc in 2000, later renamed to ApSecure the same year, which finally became Fortinet. The pair got the idea to name their company Fortnite through the phrase Fortified Networks. While trying to raise funds for Fortinet, Ken’s earlier effort, NetScreen got acquired by Juniper Networks for around $4 billion.

Early Years

Their first product came out only two years later, after stringent research and development. Between the years of 2000 and 2003, the company was able to raise over $13 million through private funding. By August of 2003, they brought in another $30 million, while they added an additional $50 million in 2004. In 2003, they launched their first channel program and began distribution in Canada the same year, via Westcon Canada. They expanded to the UK through Norwood Adam in 2004 through Norwood Adam. They also expanded to other countries and had set up other international offices in Europe, Asia, and North America by 2004.

Profits and Early Growth

The company turned cash positive in 2008 and acquired database security firm IPLocks the same year. All 28 employees of the company were extended job opportunities by Fortinite, as a very thoughtful gesture. A year later, they acquired the Ethernet-based company, Woven Systems. By the end of 2009, Fortnite commanded almost 15% of the total market, making them an industry stalwart. CRN Magazine also named them first in security hardware, a huge improvement from the seventh pace they got the year before.

IPO and Huge Success

The company sold 5.8 million shares and raised $52.4 million through its IPO in 2009. Another 6 million shares were sold by stockholders, leading to an increase in the share price from $9 to $12.50. By the end of that one single day, the company had raised over $156 million in financing. Fast forward two years, Fortinet was making $324 million a year, commanding the largest share in the market. In 2013, they launched monthly subscription options for customers with less capital. The company also acquired XDN, Coyote Point, Meru Networks and AccelOps between 2012 and 2016.

New Initiatives

They expanded to new ventures in 2014 by launching a technical certification named Network Security Expert. Two years later, the company found a way to fill Cybersecurity vacancies by launching the Network Security Academy. Through this program, the donated equipment and helped Universities train students for jobs. Furthermore, in 2016 they launched a program that encouraged military veterans to try their hand at Cyber-security, named FortiVet.

They expanded to new ventures in 2014 by launching a technical certification named Network Security Expert. Two years later, the company found a way to fill Cybersecurity vacancies by launching the Network Security Academy. Through this program, the donated equipment and helped Universities train students for jobs. Furthermore, in 2016 they launched a program that encouraged military veterans to try their hand at Cyber-security, named FortiVet.

Research Results

Research predicts that the Cyber-security market will grow 10 percent every year till 2023, and so things look good for this multi-million-dollar enterprise. Furthermore, Fortinet is growing at 20%, being valued at a staggering $13 billion in 2018. Their shares now stand around the $81 mark, which is six times more than their initial listing of $9.

Fortinet headquartered Sunnyvale, California is helping revolutionize the Cyber-security industry, and is now an industry giant. The company continues to grow at over 15%, raking in $416.7 million last year. With over 467 patents and another 291 pending, it is safe to say that the future looks safe and secure for Fortinet; much like how the Cyber-space is, thanks to them!

ASUS Released the Fix for ShadowHammer Malware Pushed on Thousands of Computers

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According to a recent report from Kaspersky, more than a million Asus computers running on Windows operating systems are under a malware threat. A malware named ShadowHammer has been injected to a pre-installed Asus utility software by some unknown hackers, making the software vulnerable to hack attacks.

asus malware

According to the Kaspersky, over 57000 Asus laptop and desktop users reported the issue, and the attack took place between the month of July and November, last year. However, Asus denied the number of reported issues saying that the number of affected laptops is lesser and now, it has finally developed the fix for the malware.

As per the reports, the hacker planted the malware through a back door to the Asus Live Update Utility software, such that whenever there is a new update for the system, the malware is pushed into the system as a new update itself. The size of the malware has also made equal to the utility software.

The company has released a patch in the form of an actual security update, which the users can download through a Live Update software tool. The Live Update software tool has also been updated to the V3.6.8 version. Also, the company has rolled out an online security diagnostic tool that can be used to scan the system for any malicious software.

“We have also updated and strengthened our server-to-end-user software architecture to prevent similar attacks from happening in the future,” stated Asus in a statement.

Though the Taiwanese laptop maker Asus unknowingly pushed the malware to the systems of its customers, it was expected from the company to be apologetic about the matter. The company stated in the news post, “Asus customer service has been reaching out to affected users and providing assistance to ensure that the security risks are removed.”

Asus has also asked the ones with the infected Asus systems to take the backup of their data on the computer. They can fix their systems by simply resetting the system or reinstalling the Window to their computers, as it’s a software-level malware attack.

Todd McKinnon : The Founder of Okta, a Company that Specializes in Enterprise Security

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Taking risks, is what most of the people are afraid of, especially, when they are running in their late 30s. At the time when people are earning enough money by working under someone else, it was Todd McKinnon, who wanted to pursue his childhood dream of becoming an entrepreneur. Even he was heading a team of more than a hundred employees in his last company and was earning an adequate amount of money to survive in a place like Silicon Valley, he decided to leave the job and just work for his dream. Having years of experience and a great vision, today, he is the founder of a billion dollars company, Okta.

Early Life

McKinnon was born in Southern California and grew up in its bay area. His father was a VP of HR, who worked for various different companies, and his mother was a homemaker.

He completed his under graduation from Brigham Young University, and later, went to the California Polytechnic State University, where he completed a degree in computer science.

Career

McKinnon finds himself lucky, to be born and brought up in the capital of technology. Being a native of Silicon Valley, since his childhood, he was convinced that he would work for an IT company in Silicon Valley.

ToddMcKinnon
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During his graduation, he got recruited by PeopleSoft, in the campus placement, in 1995. At the time, he was building a database application for the recreation department on campus. Co-incidently, the recruiter from PeopleSoft was also working on a similar project and liked Mckinnon’s work and recruited him.

McKinnon was hired as an engineer in the company and received multiple promotions in the span of eight years.

After working for eight long years in PeopleSoft, in 2003, McKinnon left the job and started working at SalesForce. In 2009, he left SalesForce to start his own company, i.e. Okta.

Founding Okta

Besides the dream of working in a Silicon Valley company, McKinnon was also fascinated with the idea of starting his own business. The reason he gives for not starting a business earlier is that he always had good jobs in hand, and those were helpful in gaining good business experience.

In SalesForce, he was managing over hundreds of employees, and he had got a good reputation. He decided that it was the right time to start a business, as he was financially and mentally capable of doing that at the time.

At the same time, people got introduced to the cloud, and not many were sure how long it is going to last. But McKinnon saw an opportunity in the same. He started off developing with a macro product, and when he went out to talk and sell the product to people, he realized there was much more to the cloud, and finally, started working on identity management on the cloud.

McKinnon pitched the idea in over 75 meetings in a span of four to five months. He also asked a former SalesForce colleague, Freddy Kerrest, to join him for the startup, and finally, after seven months of hard, work was able to raise a million dollars seed funding to start the business and founded Okta in 2009. Okta provides cloud software that helps companies manage their employees’ passwords, by providing a “single sign-on” experience.

The company earned its first paying client, in December 2009. In 2015, the company was valued at $1.2 billion and raised $75 million in venture capital from Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners and Sequoia Capital.

In 2017, the company went public, and in its IPO it raised $187 million. Okta has its offices in Bellevue, Toronto, London, Amsterdam, Sydney, San Jose and Washington D.C., and its headquarter is located in San Fransisco. In January 2019, the company reported a number of 100 million registered users on Okta and the company valued at over $7 billion.

Personal Life

McKinnon is married and has two children. He lives with his family in San Francisco. He is a fitness freak, and in 2017, he was named as the 14th fittest man on earth in the age group of 45-to-49, in the annual CrossFit Games, held in Madison, Wisconsin. Currently, he serves as the CEO of Okta.

Nir Zuk : The Founder of Palo Alto Networks, the American Cybersecurity Company

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Another college drop-out and one of the most successful tech entrepreneur, Nir Zuk, always had a dream of starting his own business. It can be judged through his career graph that he likes to handle things on his own rather than following the order of some superior authority. This genius kid from Israel is a serial entrepreneur, who is really allergic to bureaucracy. The founder of Palo Alto Networks is happy in running a small business than working for a multimillion company.

Early Life

Zuk was born and brought up in Rehovot, Israel. He was in high school when he convinced his parents to buy him a Dragon 64 computer, as a few years ago, one of his friends has also got one. He started learning computer programming by reading books and was capable enough to write small codes, only in a year.

zuk_nir
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When he was sixteen, he started writing commercial programs and earned enough money. At the same time, the first computer viruses very emerging, which caught Zuk’s attention immediately, and he became of the first persons who wrote one of the earliest virus programs.

According to the rule of the Israeli government, Zuk had to go through military training. But as he was a whiz kid, he got a job in the military’s IT department. Alongside his job in the military, he started going to college, where he took mathematics as his majors.

Career

Zuk spent a whole five years in the military, and before he could complete his degree, on the basis of his experience, he was recruited by Checkpoint, in 1994. Here he became the part of the team that was handling a major project and along with them, invented a technology called stateful inspection, which is the basis of network security technology today.

In 1997, Zuk moved to the US, to work at the U.S. head office of CheckPoint in Redwood City, California. After moving to the US, he worked with the same company for two more years and left the job.

Soon after leaving Checkpoint, Zuk went on to found his own startup company OneSecure, in 1999 and started working on the intrusion prevention system that sits behind the firewall, to make sure that the traffic passing the firewall is attack free. The system is the first of its kind.

In 2002, OneSecure was acquired by NetScreen. Even after the acquisition, Zuk retained his position of CTO in the company. Being in the company, Zuk had adviced NetScreen, to build their own firewall, such that it would be more profitable for them, but NetScreen was not ready to take the risk. Hence, after a year, Zuk left the company, to found his own company, and to build its own firewall.

Founding Palo Alto Networks

In 2005, Zuk, after teaming up with 25 of his colleagues from NetScreen, founded Palo Alto Networks. He had raised a total amount of $9.4 million for the startup. Within two years of the inception of the company, in 2007, it released its first firewall product, which was the world’s first “next-generation firewall”.

By 2011, Palo Alto Networks had become one of the most prominent cybersecurity firms and was listed as a leader on its enterprise firewall Magic Quadrant by Gartner. The company went public on the NYSE on July 20, 2012, having raised $260 million with its initial public offering.

In 2014, along with Fortinet, Mcafee, and Symantec, Palo Alto Networks founded the Cyber Threat Alliance, a not-for-profit organization for improving cybersecurity.

The revenue earned by the company in 2018, was estimated to be over US$2.27 billion. Currently, it is providing its service in the field of network security, cybersecurity, cloud computing. The company has got its headquarters situated in Santa Clara, California, U.S.