🎃 Security, Funded #67 - the business of cyber content, more earnings reports, and Spooky Edition™️

Hey there,

I hope you had a great weekend and are gearing up for Halloween activities today!

This is the official Spooky Edition™️ 👻 , so send in your Halloween pics from this week and I'll feature some of the best ones in next week's issue. Here's one of mine:

In this week's issue:

• Spooky edition
• More earnings reports
• The business of cyber content is booming

A big shoutout goes out to my friends over at The CyberWire on their recent merger (see more below)!

The CyberWire is a news staple for much of the cybersecurity industry and workforce development, and I have no doubt this new merger is only going to increase the value of the content they produce.

Per the official press release:

The merger of these two cybersecurity leaders will create powerful new opportunities for professionals to keep abreast of the latest developments in their industry, climb the knowledge curve quickly, and stay ahead in a continuously changing world.

Expect to see big things on the talent development and content front.

Another notable event from last week was the acquisition of a security conference (I made a new category for this) called Cyber Security Summit. You can see more below, but this acquisition combined with N2K Networks shows just how powerful the business of cyber content is for industry.

Speaking of the industry, last week saw three publicly traded cybersecurity companies share their earning reports.

Tenable ($TENB), Checkpoint ($CHKP), and Juniper ($JNPR) all beat their Q3 earnings expectations. Focuses on growth to partnership ecosystems, achieving a higher lifetime value (LTV) per customer, and shareholder dividend growth played roles across all of these reports.

The stalwarts once again showing consistent and reliable growth in this industry despite macro economic factors being headwinds.

Onward to this week's issue.

🗣️ SPONSOR

📊 Industry News

• A 100-day cybersecurity sprint for the US chemical sector (more)
• Healthcare Cybersecurity Market to hit $59B by 2030 (more)
• In Australia, a hacking frenzy spurred by an undersized cybersecurity workforce (more)

💰 Funding Summary

• 15 companies raised $239.3M across 15 unique product categories
• 5 companies were acquired or had a merger event across 5 unique product categories

🧩 Funding by Product Category

• $120.0M for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
• $25.0M for SaaS Security
• $22.0M for IT Asset Management (ITAM)
• $20.0M for Secure Collaboration and Messaging
• $10.0M for Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP)
• $9.2M for Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
• $7.0M for Software Supply Chain Security
• $6.9M for Managed Services Provider (MSP)
• $5.4M for Cybersecurity News and Media
• $4.8M for Threat Detection and Response (TDR)
• $4.0M for Application Security
• $3.0M for Security Awareness
• $2.0M for Data Protection
• An undisclosed amount for Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Security
• An undisclosed amount for Blockchain Security

🏢 Funding By Company

• Versa Networks, a secure access service edge (SASE) platform, raised a $120.0M Private Equity Round from BlackRock and Silicon Valley Bank. (more)
• Valence Security, an SaaS security company focused on third-party integrations, raised a $25.0M Series A from M12 - Microsoft's Venture Fund. (more)
• Sepio, an physical-layer IT asset discovery and inventory platform, raised a $22.0M Series B from U.S. Venture Partners. (more)
• PreVeil, an encrypted messaging and document collaboration platform, raised a $20.0M Series C from PSG.
• Spyderbat, a runtime application security platform, raised a $10.0M Series A from NTT Venture Capital. (more)
• BluSapphire, an extended detection and response (XDR) platform, raised a $9.2M Series A from [Baring Private Equity India](). (more)
• Arnica, a software supply chain security platform, raised a $7.0M Seed from First Rays Venture Partners. (more)
• Clear Creek Communications, a managed services provider (MSP), raised a $6.9M Grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture. (more)
• N2K Networks, a cybersecurity news and education platform and the parent company of The CyberWire and CyberVista, raised a $5.4M Seed from Graham Holdings Company. (more)
• Perygee, a threat detection and response platform for IoT and OT devices, raised a $4.8M Seed from Ballistic Ventures. (more)
• Bearer, a static code analysis platform that focuses on sensitive data risks in code, raised a $4.0M Seed from Alven. (more)
• Protexxa, a security awareness and employee training platform, raised a $3.0M Seed from BKR Capital. (more)
• CYSEC, a secure containerized data security platform, raised a $2.0M Seed from Karista. (more)
• Ancilia, a blockchain threat detection platform, raised an undisclosed Seed from Binance Labs. (more)
• Gomboc.ai, a infrastructure as code (IaC) security platform, raised an undisclosed Seed from Glilot Capital Partnersand Hetz Ventures.

🤝 Mergers & Acquisitions

• Access-Interactive, a managed security services provider (MSSP), was acquired by People Driven Technology for an undisclosed amount. (more)
• Counter Threat Solutions, a professional cybersecurity services firm focused on defense and intelligence agencies, was acquired by SilverEdge for an undisclosed amount. (more)
• FileScan.IO, a malware analysis platform, was acquired by OPSWAT for an undisclosed amount. (more)
• The CyberWire, a cybersecurity-focused news and content distribution service, merged with CyberVista for an undisclosed amount to form N2K Networks. (more)

🔐 Secure The Job

If you're looking for new opportunities (actively or passively), I've got two ways to help:

• Return on Security Job Board - Browse the jobs I curate each week and apply for what matches your interests.
• Return on Security Talent Collective - Apply to my talent collective to get personally matched with high-growth, high-upside opportunities (if you refer one (1) person to this newsletter you get access automatically!)

Are you hiring? Post a role and request access to start meeting world class candidates open to new opportunities. Learn more or request access here.

📚 Great Reads

• Top 10 resources about the business of cybersecurity - A list of resources for founders, product managers, investors, industry analysts, reporters, and others interested in the business side of cybersecurity
• The State of Crypto Security - Hackers have stolen more than $2B from crypto applications this year. The problem will only get worse as the crypto ecosystem grows and attracts more malicious actors. Something has to change. It’s time to take a step back, reflect on past mistakes, and change how we handle security in this industry.
• Create A Risk Register - A risk register is just a fancy cybersecurity term for “a list of things that introduce risk to the company.”

You can see the full list of curated posts across all issues here, and you can submit an article, post, tweet, or video here and it can show up in the newsletter!

🧪 Labs

👋 Thanks

Have questions, comments, or feedback about this issue? I'd love to hear from you. Reach out on Twitter or reply directly to the newsletter version of this issue.

Thanks for reading and see you again next time!

Whenever you're ready, there are a few ways I can help you:

• Work 1:1 with me to evaluate a company or product category here. 🤝
• Sponsor the newsletter decision maker eyeballs on your brand here. ✉️

Cheers,

Mike P