These days, companies possess an overwhelming amount of data. Those data form the basis of the very functioning of many organizations and, unfortunately, are frequently subject to outside break-ins. That’s why former Orbitz Chief Information Security Officer Ed Bellis founded Risk I/O, the world’s first vulnerability intelligence platform.
This 1871 company announced Tuesday a Series A funding round that amounted to $5.25 million led by U.S. Venture Partners (USVC). Tugboat Ventures, Costanoa Venture Capital and Hyde Park Angels also participated in the round.
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“Risk I/O will use the funds to accelerate and expand our precognition features around security prioritization as well as expand sales and marketing to meet increasing demand from enterprise users,” Bellis says. He cited USVC and Costanoa’s experience in the security industry as a major reason for seeking their investment. Tugboat and Hyde Park Angels, on the other hand, have served as mentors to the Risk I/O team since participating in their seed funding round in 2011.
We’ve all heard examples of major corporations’ databases and servers being hacked and individuals’ information leaked onto the Web. These types of cyberattacks vary in size and seriousness, but you would be hard pressed to find a company comfortable with even a minor leak in customers’ personal data. That’s why Bellis thinks Risk I/O is important, even essential. He says it’s a centralized way for professionals to assess vulnerability data across the board, without having to rely on multiple, disparate methods for protection.
“Risk I/O makes it easier for Security teams to quickly identify and remediate high-risk vulnerabilities and improve their overall security state,” Bellis says. “A security vulnerability is a technology weakness in either infrastructure or applications that make it possible for systems and information to be breached or hacked.”
In addition to the raise, Risk I/O also announced the addition of USVP partner Jacques Benkoski to their board of directors. Bellis says Benkoski’s experience working with startups and in the security industry, as well as his network and knowledge in these respects, make him a valuable new member of the team.
At the moment, Risk I/O has nine full-time employees as well as one consultant. Following this raise, Bellis is looking to add engineers and salespeople to his team.
By allowing companies to monitor existing security tools in a single platform, Risk I/O hopes to improve the way businesses protect themselves.
Visit Risk I/O’s website, check out their BIC profile, and follow them on Twitter at @RiskIO.
