Despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, deals are still getting done in Austin’s startup community.
Austin-based SpyCloud announced on Tuesday that it has closed on $30 million in additional venture capital funding.
To date, the cybersecurity company, founded in 2016, has raised $58.5 million, according to Crunchbase.
SpyCloud plans to use the funds raised to expand its product and engineering teams and build new ways to detect and prevent fraud.
The company has created an anti-fraud platform that specializes in preventing account takeover by criminals. SpyCloud’s software can find vulnerabilities in a company’s computer system before cybercriminals can strike. SpyCloud’s software flags employees and customer accounts that have security issues early on. And the company checks to make sure the accounts have not been exposed and passwords are secure.
Centana Growth Partners led SpyCloud’s Series C investment, with participation from all existing investors: M12 (Microsoft’s venture fund), Altos Ventures, Silverton Partners, and March Capital Partners.
“Criminals work together to steal information and find creative ways to monetize it. As a result, even the most careful and sophisticated organizations are vulnerable,” Ted Ross, SpyCloud CEO and co-founder said in a news release. “SpyCloud will continue to pursue new and innovative ways to stay ahead of criminals and provide solutions that make the internet a safer place for individuals and businesses.”
The pandemic has affected SpyCloud’s business. Its services are in big demand because scams have proliferated online since the lockdowns began in March. SpyCloud researchers found 139,000 new web domains related to the virus with multiple scams designed to steal people’s personal information.
“SpyCloud’s approach to fraud prevention is helping businesses protect themselves and their customers at a time when threats are more pervasive than we’ve ever seen. We heard from major financial institutions and a wide range of enterprises that SpyCloud’s solutions are critically important to their anti-fraud efforts,” Eric Byunn, partner at Centana Growth Partners who joins SpyCloud’s board., said in a news release. “We’re proud to help them continue the fight and discover new ways to protect both companies and consumers from these evolving threats.”
“With so many people now working from home and multiple family members sharing devices with a mix of personal and professional applications, attack surfaces have increased significantly. Criminals are certainly taking full advantage of these new opportunities to exploit your employees and their family members,” Ross said.
Cybercriminals are able to break into a company’s computer system using stolen credentials. They can then steal financial information or intellectual property and damage a company’s reputation. SpyCloud’s system is designed to catch them before they breach the system.