From: "Spencer, Will" <wspencert_private> Securify Tries To Patch Up Holes In Nets Security breaches on the Web are a big and embarrassing problem for companies. Company information has been stolen and damaged - by accident and intentionally - by Web denizens who have found holes in fire walls and other security software. A privately held Silicon Valley start-up - led by a former top executive with one of the Internet's pioneers - believes it has a solution. Veriguard Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., is developing a security service to protect company information on the Internet and on internal networks. The company, which is changing its name to Securify, was founded in February by Taher Elgamal, former chief scientist for Netscape Communications Corp. Elgamal, who left Netscape in June, has raised $5.5 million from venture capital firms Mohr Davidow Ventures and U.S. Venture Partners, and from a few private investors. Mohr Davidow funded Securify because nobody has been able to stop security breaches on the Web, says George Zachary, a general partner with the Menlo Park, Calif., firm. "What we have seen so far is the Band-Aid approach (to security)," Zachary said. "This is an exciting opportunity for us because security is highly complex and there is a strong need in the market for a service by a third-party (company)." Securify offers an array of network security services, including evaluation, detection, monitoring, system installation and software development. What makes Securify unusual, though, is that it focuses on confronting and stopping security breaches from inside a corporate customer. "Eighty percent of the break-ins occur internally," Zachary said. "You can't fix that with software, and you just can't put a fire wall up." Securify is setting up shop at a time when the industry appears poised to address the security problem. But Securify faces some big competition. Rivals include Cambridge Technology Partners, Lucent Technologies Inc., IBM Corp., AT&T Corp. and Ernst & Young LLP . All are trying to tap into a market that will almost triple in four years, analysts say. Revenue from Internet security services will rise to $11.6 billion in '02 from $4.6 billion this year, says International Data Corp., a Framingham, Mass.- based market researcher. "We are looking at an average growth rate of 26% a year," said Richard Brewer, an analyst at IDC. He says Internet security services include consulting, systems integration, monitoring, ongoing support services and some custom software coding. Brewer says the demand for Internet security services will grow as the public becomes more aware of breaches, such as this month's break-in at The New York Times' Web site. Hackers took over the Times' Web site and displayed offensive pictures. The breach took place on a Sunday, when the site gets about 150,000 visitors. Hackers also have broken into government computer networks. A few weeks ago, the Department of Defense ordered its staff to begin removing sensitive material from some military Web sites. Companies and the government need to be more cautious, Brewer says. "(Hackers are) not just in garages," he said. "There is a class of mercenaries and thieves who are in the business to sabotage and steal data." -o- Subscribe: mail majordomot_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com]
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Apr 13 2001 - 13:09:03 PDT