(Disclaimer: I am on the Symbiot TAB.......rf) Security Co. Symbiot Targets $10M First Round, Names Advisory Board
By Clancy Nolan <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 4/21/2005���� �� Symbiot Inc., a provider of security infrastructure management systems, is targeting between $7 million and $10 million in its first round of venture financing, Chief Executive William Hurley told VentureWire. Symbiot has been internally funded since its inception in 2002, and is raising capital to support continued development and sales of its newly released security appliance. The company began talking with venture firms roughly a month ago, and hopes to close on the money in May, Hurley said. Symbiot's appliances are designed to manage security risks and comply with regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The Symbiot 5600, released in March, plugs into an enterprise network and reports on top attackers, attack types, incident reports and other data. The technology taps into a proprietary database of attacker profiles culled from various databases and from the Symbiot's OpenSIMS project - an initiative to tie together the various open source tools used for security event management into a common infrastructure. Using risk metrics, Symbiot measures the threats posed by attackers and recommends countermeasures. Accompanying the appliance is the Symbiot Orb, a device designed to plug into an outlet from any location and alert customers to security threats. "We want to move the interface of security out of the network," Hurley said. The orb is a glowing glass ball about the size of a softball, he said, which moves from green to red to indicate security threats. If a problem isn't resolved, the orb starts to pulse. "We have one CEO - to give you an idea - he doesn't actually call anyone unless it's red and pulsing very fast." Symbiot has more than a dozen customers, Hurley said, and began generating revenue in late 2004. He declined to name specific customers, but said that the company's system sells for roughly $19,000. The Austin, Texas-based company has roughly 15 employees and plans to add sales and support staff in the coming months. Symbiot also announced its first advisory board, which will help expand its open source project, pursue new customers and raise capital. The seven-member board includes Apache Software Foundation founder Brian Behlendorf; Open Source Initiative founder Eric Raymond; CycCorp Chief Executive Doug Lenat; former Network Solutions Inc. CSO Richard Forno; Apache Software Foundation Director Ben Laurie, SpikeSource CEO Kim Polese and former Congressman Ronald Klink. Hurley said Symbiot would add additional advisors in the coming months. http://www.symbiot.com <http://www.symbiot.com/> You are a subscribed member of the infowarrior list. Visit www.infowarrior.org for list information or to unsubscribe. This message may be redistributed freely in its entirety. Any and all copyrights appearing in list messages are maintained by their respective owners.
