Industry Cybersecurity Products Security software Headquarters Tel Aviv Type of business Private | Area served Global Website Official Website Founded 2014 | |
 | ||
Key people Shlomo Touboul (CEO)
Ofer Israeli (Founder)
Nadav Zafrir (Chairman) | ||
Security startup spotlight illusive networks
Illusive Networks (stylized illusive networks) is a cybersecurity firm headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company produces technology that deceives cyber attackers by planting false information about given network's resources. Network administrators are alerted when cyber attackers use security deceptions in an attempt to exploit the network. Illusive Networks is the first company launched by the Tel Aviv-based incubator, Team8. In June 2015, Illusive Networks received $5 million in Series A funding from Team8.
Contents
History
Illusive Networks was founded in 2014 by Team8 and Ofer Israeli, with Shlomo Touboul joining as the company's CEO. In June 2015, Illusive received $5 million in Series A funding from cybersecurity incubator, Team8. Team8 is funded by a group of investors, including Google Chairman Eric Schmidt's venture capital fund, Innovation Endeavors, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco Systems, Marker LLC, Bessemer Venture Partners, and others. While in Israel at the 5th Annual International Cybersecurity Conference in 2015, Schmidt paid a visit to Illusive Networks' headquarters on June 9 during the company's official launch. The company was named one of Gartner's Cool Vendors in Security and Intelligence for 2015.
After receiving $5 million in Series A funding back in June 2015, Illusive Networks announced on October 20, 2015, their Series B round of $22 million by New Enterprise Associates.
Technology
The software produced by Illusive Networks is designed to provide early detection of cyber attackers who have penetrated a given network. The software blocks intruders from advancing their attacks by providing false and misleading information that appears alongside real, valuable information. The software is designed to thwart attacks and advanced persistent threats. Instead of targeting malware, the Illusive software targets actual human beings (cyber attackers) who must make decisions at each step in the process in order to advance further into a network. If the attackers use the deceptive lures during the attack, network administrators will be alerted and given the option to shut the attack down immediately or observe the hacker accruing real-time breach forensics. The technology is different than traditional honeypots in that it forms a deceptive "layer" across the entire network without installing agents or applications servers or endpoints. The software has more than 50,000 users at Fortune 500 companies, healthcare companies, insurance companies, legal firms, and others.