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Mocana (founded 2004) is a San Francisco-based company that focuses on and embedded system security. One of its main products, Security of Things Platform, is a high-performance, ultra-optimized, OS-independent, high-assurance security solution for any device class. This decoupling of security implementation from the rest of mobile application development allows for easier development of software for devices comprising the "Internet of Things", in which numerous independent networked devices communicate with each other in various ways. Mocana was originally launched as an embedded systems security company, but more recently the company has shifted its focus to protecting mobile devices and the apps and data on them.
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History
Mocana launched in 2004 with a focus on embedded systems security. That same year the company launched Embedded Security Suite, a software product to secure communications between networked devices. In February 2005, while based in Menlo Park, California, the company joined the Freescale Semiconductor Developers Alliance Program, and delivered that group's first security software. In 2008, Mocana was cited as an example of how an independent company could provide security for smartphones.
Mocana CEO Adrian Turner published an article in the San Jose Mercury News on the risks associated with non-PC networked devices; and the New York Times reported that Mocana's researchers had "discovered they could hack into a best-selling Internet-ready HDTV model with unsettling ease," and highlighted the opportunity for criminals to intercept information like credit card billing details. Media outlets across the U.S. cited this point in their coverage of the risks associated with advances in technology.
Mocana sponsored the 7th Workshop on RFID Security and Privacy at the University of Massachusetts in 2011. It launched the Mobile Application Protection platform in 2011 with support for Android apps, and added iOS app support in 2012. Following a Series D funding round in 2012, total investment in Mocana was $47 million.
New CEO James Isaacs replaced Turner in September 2013. Interim CEO Peter Graham replaced Isaacs in April 2016. Bill Diotte replaced Graham in May 2016.
Products and services
Mobile Application Protection (MAP) "wraps" mobile apps to enable them to protect their data and provide more control by Information Technology (IT) teams. Features that IT admins can apply to their mobile apps include:
MAP also offers customizable user agreements, optional FIPS 140-2 encryption, and data sharing among individually wrapped apps. Access to application source code is not required. The product's design is based in the assumption that many assurances of security from the device and its operating system may be compromised. This obviates the necessity of having "infallible" systemwide security policies.
Current drawbacks of the app wrapping approach include the inability to "wrap" consumer apps from the iTunes Store or "native" apps included with the mobile operating system, like email and calendaring. Mocana has announced plans to address both features in a future release.
In addition, Mocana offers consulting services, evaluating and advising on security threats in networked devices.
Industries served
Mocana's security technology is used in airplane in-flight entertainment systems, medical devices, battlefield communications, automobile firmware, and cell phone carrier networks. Mocana senior analyst Robert Vamosi was cited in a 2011 piece in Bloomberg Businessweek comparing tech companies' approaches to security.
Mocana aims to serve the security needs of the emerging market for mobile devices, estimated at $3 to $5 billion. A 2012 profile of the company asserted that its success would hinge on its ability to develop a network of mobile device makers and corporate app stores, and on its ability to adapt to major changes in the way information technology is handled. The company was noted as one of several Bay Area companies working with the U.S. federal government to fight Internet crime.
Funding
Mocana's investors include Trident Capital (2012), Intel Capital (2011), Shasta Ventures, Southern Cross Venture Partners, and Symantec (2010). As of the August 2012 Series D, a total of $47 million has been raised.