Threat X closes $8.2M Series A funding round

Wednesday April 4, 2018 Tags: Denver, ThreatX, Grotech Ventures, Access Venture Partners, Bret Settle, Joe Zell

DENVER -- Threat X, a leading provider of SaaS-based web application firewall solutions for real-time threat detection and neutralization, today announced it closed an $8.2 million Series A funding round co-led by Grotech Ventures and Access Venture Partners.

The funding will fuel continued growth and support rapid adoption of Threat X’s, kill-chain based threat detection and neutralization solution and managed security service, the company said.

Threat X said the complexity of hybrid cloud, web application and legacy environments, along with mobile, IoT, and web APIs, has created a vast attack surface that simply can’t be covered by current generation WAF solutions.

Threat X said it addresses this gap with an adaptable, cloud-based solution that employs kill-chain based, progressive profiling to identify and neutralize threats. This greatly reduces the false positives and heavy maintenance burdens associated with current WAF solutions while adapting to ever- changing cloud environments and vulnerabilities.

The company’s cloud-based solutions and managed service are currently deployed across a range of industries and customers including BMC Software, Denver Health, GHX, and Kroenke Sports and Entertainment.

“The biggest security challenge every organization faces today is keeping up with an evolving threat landscape amidst hybrid cloud environments, highly dynamic application development and customization approaches, and the sheer volume of systems exposed to the outside world,” said Bret Settle, Threat X founder and CEO.

“Our goal is to help organizations protect their applications with a SaaS based web application firewall that provides a holistic view of every attack, the techniques being utilized, and target vulnerabilities.

“Our behavioral profiling and correlation engine analyzes each attack and eliminates false positives by grading risk level and progress throughout the 'kill-chain'. Our customers can also leverage our deep analytics and expert security team for greater threat intelligence and visibility into preventative measures.”

“We deployed Threat X in days across our complex application environment and instantly had a holistic, risk-based view of all threats and vulnerabilities,” said Sloane Stricker, Global Healthcre Exchange CISO and VP of global operations and infrastructure.

“With its unique 'kill-chain' based approach we immediately reduced our false positives, allowing us to move to blocking mode in days versus the several weeks required by our prior WAF solution.

“From an operational perspective, the automated threat correlation capabilities have provided high visibility with minimal maintenance, allowing my team to focus on other strategic initiatives.”

“We spoke to a large number of CISO’s in our diligence and across the board everyone was looking to replace their Imperva, F5 Networks, and Akamai WAF solutions. It was clear that those 1st generation platforms require a large investment in time and expertise to get them to work even marginally,” said Joe Zell, Grotech Ventures.

“In most cases the platforms were providing minimal protection and generating significant noise from false positives. With the universal shortage of security expertise, all today's CISO wants is a solution that can deliver quick and accurate application threat coverage while allowing them to focus their teams on other issues.”