Tackling A Top Cybersecurity Threat Against Distributed Workforces

DefensX Takes on Social Engineering Attacks with New Round of Financing from Invest101

This week, DefensX, developer of a Zero Trust Secure Web Browser extension and solutions today announced it has received investment from the Development METU Technopark Venture Capital Investment Fund (Invest101), established in cooperation with the Türkiye Development Fund (TDF) and METU Technopark.

“We are pleased to welcome Osman and the DefensX team to our Invest101 family,” said Elif Altug, Ph.D, CFA, CEO and Board Member of Türkiye Development Fund. “The company has already proven the enormous value of technology in our country, our region, and globally, and we look forward to their expansion in such a mission critical area. Without the ability to defend against growing threats, digital and structural transformation is limited. DefensX addresses risks in a modern way which is accessible, affordable, and sustainable.”

Invest101 supports new generation, early-stage technology startups, to scale up innovative solutions across artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), big data, cybersecurity, fintech, gaming technologies, software development technologies, internet of things (IoT), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), cloud technologies, advanced material, robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, renewable energy, and mobility.

DefensX’s Zero Trust Secure Web Browser is built on a cloud-first architecture that has been adopted by major distribution channels around the world. It includes a range of capabilities, including:

• Zero Trust Web Protection
• Zero Trust Credentials
• Zero Trust File Protection
• Remote Browser Isolation
• DNS++

With this latest funding, DefensX will look to scale as the challenges it has been solving for continue to mount.

Zero Trust assumes that there is no traditional network edge; networks can be local, in the cloud, or a combination or hybrid with resources anywhere as well as workers in any location. It’s an architecture based on zero trust that follows the maxim, "Never trust," always verify." This is a significant departure from traditional network security, which followed the “Trust but verify” method. That old model has become obsolete with wide-scale cloud migration as part of business transformation initiatives.

While the idea of zero trust has been around since 1994, recently the technology has become popular amid the resurgence of cyber crime. In 2022, zero trust security initiatives among companies stood at 97 percent, up from just 16 percent in 2019. Moving forward, the it is expected to play a pivotal role in the fight against cyber crime, with the global zero trust security market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.30 percent, with experts predicting a market value of $59.89 billion by 2027, up almost $40 billion from 2021.

The growth and expected continued reliance of zero trust is not the least surprising given the benefits the application can provide to cyber security portfolios. Zero trust helps reduce business and organizational risk. If an attacker is somehow able to gain a foothold in the network or cloud instance through a compromised device or other vulnerability, that attacker will have no ability to access or steal data because of being “untrusted.” Also, there is no ability to move laterally due to the zero trust model of creating a "secure segment of one," which means there is nowhere an attacker can go.

Furthermore, zero trust can also be incorporated with endpoint security, helping optimize the efficiency of a security network. Zero trust endpoint security products secure and collect data on the activity that occurs on endpoints, keeping workforces safe, even when spread out working remotely. This helps reduce the amount of endpoints viable for a hacker to use when attempting to breach, which is critical when one realizes how many devices the modern-day enterprises leverages.

“We are deeply honored to have been chosen by the Invest101 team, given their shared focus on creating strong regional and global companies engaged in strategic industries,” said Osman Erkan, Co-Founder and CEO of DefensX. “We look forward to becoming a strong contributor to their network of investors and entrepreneurs who are committed, as we are, to developing and expanding meaningful and sustainable solutions, especially in the cyber security arena, as threats continue to accelerate.”

Last month, DefensX announced it had closed a financing round by Revo Capital, a venture capital fund investing in truly innovative, seed and early-stage B2B or B2C technology ventures. The investment of Invest 101 was realized as an extension of the above-mentioned round.

As demand for DefensX cyber security solutions continues to grow in North America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific and Europe Middle East and Africa, Invest 101 and Revo’s investments will accelerate further expansion and software-as-a-service development.