Promisec: Securing Networks from Within
Business Week | Neal Sandler | July 14, 2010
Israel has made a name for itself in the field of Internet security, thanks in part to expertise emanating from the country’s elite military intelligence units. Among the biggest success stories so far has been Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP), a world leader in “firewall” technology that guards external points of entry into data networks.
While firewalls keep unauthorized users and software out of a network, there’s a growing danger from within. According to research firms Frost & Sullivan and IDC, the biggest threats to security these days originate with “endpoint” devices on a network, such as PCs and laptops, from which users can inadvertently—or purposefully—introduce viruses and other rogue programs into the seemingly secure confines of an organization.
That’s where Israeli startup Promisec comes in. Based in Rishon LeZion, southeast of Tel Aviv, the privately held company makes a suite of software tools that analyze and manage all the devices attached to a network, automatically enforcing corporate IT policies and preventing violations such as unauthorized file access or uploads of malware.
“Eighty percent of the security threats come from within the organization, and that translates globally into annual costs that run into billions of dollars,” says Promisec co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Amir Kotler. Customer enthusiasm for Promisec’s solution drove the company’s revenues up threefold last year, to $10 million, and sales could top $20 million in 2010, Kotler predicts.
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