Israeli firm CYE raises $100m. for advanced cybersecurity approach

'We offer a premium cybersecurity service, and it costs a lot more'

(L-R) CYE's founders: Eyal Greenberg (Co-founder & Head of Research), Reuven Aronashvili (Founder and CEO), Gabi Levenberg (Co-founder & Services Team Leader), Matan Chen (Co-founder & Services Team Leader), and Haim Aharoni (Co-founder & CPO). (photo credit: Courtesy)
(L-R) CYE's founders: Eyal Greenberg (Co-founder & Head of Research), Reuven Aronashvili (Founder and CEO), Gabi Levenberg (Co-founder & Services Team Leader), Matan Chen (Co-founder & Services Team Leader), and Haim Aharoni (Co-founder & CPO).
(photo credit: Courtesy)
"There isn't another cybersecurity company doing what we are doing," said Noy Saban, chief financial officer of Herzliya-based CYE.
“We found that for many enterprises, the security head’s job is learning about and setting up some of the many security tools that are available. In contrast, we do a complete security assessment of the enterprise’s entire system, including live hacking attempts, and provide tools for mitigating the most likely attacks.”
 
Saban spoke with The Jerusalem Post the day before CYE announced that it had completed a massive $100 million financing round. The round was led by the global investment organization EQT, with participation from existing investor 83North.
 
“The money will allow us to scale up at a much faster pace,” Saban said. “Our company is already profitable and growing extremely rapidly. We are not looking to do a fast exit. We expect to be leaders in our market, and we believe this investment round will allow us to get there more quickly.”
 
The company currently has 70 employees and plans to double that in the coming year. Saban said the company’s name is short for Cyber Eye, like a trusted adviser looking from above.
 
The company was established in 2014 by Reuven (Ruby) Aronashvili. During his military service, he founded the red team of the IDF’s secret cyber unit, which was designed to find sensitivities in military computers by hacking into them.
 
“We offer a premium service that costs a lot more than other defense products,” Saban said. “We work with organizations or governments that know they are under threat and sometimes even under real attack.”
 
Saban explained the company’s methodology:
 
“First, we do a full security assessment of all of the client’s digital assets, including live penetration testing. That means we have white-hat hackers who conduct actual live attacks so we can see where the vulnerabilities are. Obviously, we don’t actually damage anything inside.
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“Next, we translate the results into business data, where we present the actual attack routes that are accessible throughout the company, and the cost of mitigating each route. Then, once that is done, we implement the mitigation plan and provide the services to maintain it.”
 
That is a much more comprehensive approach than most service providers offer, said Saban. "Technology alone will take you only to a certain point. We found that most companies’ chief security offers spend most of their time trying to stay up to date on all the new tools available, and adding more out-of-the-box tools that he is responsible for implementing. We provide a smarter, more comprehensive system that is a mix of technology and our unique expertise.
 
“We don’t chase every client. Our sales proposition is a high-premium service. Our clients are mainly large corporations in the United States and Western Europe. There aren’t really any direct competitors doing what we are doing. Some companies do some of the things, but not the whole process, end to end.
 
“I joined this company because I was extremely impressed with the team and its corporate culture. I think we are going to go very far.”