CI Security announced today it has raised an additional $9.6 million
dollars to defend critical services in healthcare and the public sector
from cyber threats.
The added investment allows CI Security to continue expanding its
Critical Insight Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service. Customers
with Critical Insight MDR can detect and respond to intrusions and
threats quickly. Those customers know that CI Security’s analysts are
using purpose-built technology to watch for security events 24/7/365.
The Series B fundraising was led by Alan Frazier’s East Seattle
Partners, with $9.6 million raised. Including its Series A in 2018, CI
Security has now raised over $16 million.
Defending Critical Sectors
CI Security is uniquely positioned for growth with its focus on helping
customers minimize the impact from cybersecurity events.
“We’re honored to continue our work defending hospitals, clinics,
cities, ports, and school districts,” said Mike Hamilton, President and
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of CI Security. “Our mission
is to make sure the lights stay on, healthcare is available, the water
supply is safe, and the continuity of commerce continues unabated during
this time of unprecedented threat activity.”
“Organizations spend $96 billion annually on security technologies but
the headlines persist. There is no silver bullet technology solution
that can eradicate the risk of a cyber attack,” said Garrett Silver, CEO.
“Security is not a technology problem, it is a people problem. There is
a material shortage of security talent, and organizations cannot recruit
and retain enough people to manage the technology they already have. Our
managed detection and response solution uses technology to enable
Critical Insight analysts to extend our customers’ teams. We take the
operational burden of detection and response so our customers’ few,
precious resources can get back to their day job: moving forward on
their organization’s security maturity journey.”
More People Who Detect and Respond
CI Security is quickly growing its expert staff inside the Critical
Insight Security Operations Centers. Each customer has a CI Success
Engineer, a dedicated security advocate with a deep understanding of the
customer’s specific needs and critical assets. That CI Success Engineer
serves as the central communication point for customers while CI
Security Analysts leverage best-in-class technology to investigate
threats around-the-clock. Those analysts work in two security operations
centers in geographically diverse areas, allowing for continuity of
operations in case of natural disaster.
CI Security sources analysts from the military, technical colleges, and
universities, especially those involved in the PISCES program. CI
Security’s Mike Hamilton is a founder of PISCES, a program which
partners with multiple universities and allows CI Security to provide
security monitoring for down-market local governments at no charge. “The
students get to learn infrastructure protection and job skills. Then we
hire the best and brightest,” said Hamilton. The combination of the
PISCES program and CI Security continuous training helps the company
avoid the turnover and recruiting issues faced by so many organizations
that seek security talent.
“With strong retention of our security analysts, we take care of the
people problem in information security. Customers can rest easy knowing
that our people have their back 24/7/365, and our ability to maintain
analyst capacity stays ahead of customer demand,” said Hamilton.
More Detection and Response Capabilities
CI Security is adding significantly to its detection and response
capabilities. Critical Insight MDR monitors digital assets where
customers have them: on premises, AWS or Azure cloud, and Microsoft
O365. Critical Insight MDR is designed to spot attacks on IoT devices
including connected medical devices, as well as defend operational
technologies (OT) in water, energy, manufacturing, and transportation
sectors in a regulatory compliant fashion.
Keeping the MDR Promise
The added investment shows MDR is fulfilling promises that Managed
Security Service Providers (MSSPs) couldn’t keep: to perform deep
investigations into threats, eliminate alert fatigue, and partner with
customers when responding to incidents.
“Authentic MDR starts with the acknowledgement that great detection and
response comes from awesome analysts amplified by great technology,”
said Silver. “Our purpose-built technology with powerful data ingest
means CI Security Analysts conduct deep investigations to remove false
positives and catch events that SIEMs and MSSPs miss. Organizations have
critical systems that keep people alive and improve quality of life. We
believe those people deserve to have authentic MDR watching out for
them.”
About CI Security:
CI Security provides Managed Detection and Response as well as
professional services. CI Security Headquarters is in Seattle, WA. It
has two Security Operations Centers, one in Bremerton, WA and one in
Ellensburg, WA, as well as offices across the United States. For more
information, visit: https://ci.security.
About East Seattle Partners:
East Seattle Partners (“ESP”) is the investment management entity
responsible for allocating and investing the personal capital of Alan
Frazier outside of his activities at Frazier Healthcare Partners. ESP
makes direct investments in early stage and mature middle market
companies, as well as multi-family and commercial real estate
properties. With a focus on the Pacific Northwest, the firm takes an
active value-add approach, looking to partner with world-class
entrepreneurs, management teams, and business partners to create long
term value in its venture, private equity and other portfolios.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190422005508/en/