Lastline, a cyber security startup, was founded by three computer science professors in 2011. Lastline has developed a security platform similar to FireEye. The timing for this startup is right on, as it is now at the forefront of the fastest growing segment in technology. With three years of experience under its belt, and 40+ employees strong, Lastline is ready to take their platform to executive suite of all CISO’s.
Lastline Facts
- Founded: 2011
- Raised: $10 Million
- Product: Cyber Security Platform
- Functionality: Protects against APT, Zero-day and Advanced Malware Threats
- Main Competitor: FireEye
- HQ: Redwood City, CA
- Employee Count via LinkedIn: 43
- Founders: Christopher Kruegel, Giovanni Vigna, and Engin Kirda
Product Offering
The Lastline platform incorporates advanced behavior algorithms, that gives it artificial intelligence like behavior, and enables it to continuously learn its surrounding, and behave in certain ways to prevent, detect, and react in real time to threats of all kinds. The platform analyzes user activity, network traffic, applications, mobile devices, and data generated by all connected devices.
Lastline offers two platforms
- Lastline Enterprise: Detects and blocks advanced malware, and threats, within the corporate network. It is offered as a onsite appliance or cloud service
- Lastline Analyst: Tool providing forensic functionality for tracking, auditing, and investigating malware in Microsoft documents, web pages, Android malware, Windows malware and PDF’s
Product Available in Three Modules
- Sensor Module: onsite appliance that monitors network traffic, and identifies malware behavior, in order to protect against data loss
- Manager Module: onsite appliance or cloud service that forwards data to an engine for analysis, helping with anomaly detection, and correlating various activities to stop threats
- Engine Module: Analysis tool available as an onsite appliance or cloud service, that analyzes executables, using sandbox technology, emulation, and evasion techniques
Wrap Up
Lastline is in a great position, operating in a rapidly growing segment, that offers a FireEye-like product suite. The years of experience in this new category, should be enough to cushion Lastline from the onslaught of competitors entering this particular niche. I’m sure the Lastline team dreams of an IPO, just like all startups, but being in a hot segment with good technology, means that larger companies are going to be circling them waiting for the opportune time to acquire. If that happens, it would be great to see someone outside the security space, like Limelight Networks, or Akamai, do the acquiring. Cool Startup: Lastline