Top stories.
- NSO Group acquired by American investors.
- LevelBlue to acquire Cybereason.
- Resistant AI raises $25 million.
Mergers and acquisitions.
Israeli spyware company NSO Group confirmed to TechCrunch that it's been acquired by a US investment group in a deal valued at tens of millions of dollars. NSO spokesperson Oded Hershowitz told TechCrunch, "This investment does not mean that the company is moving out of Israeli regulatory or operational control. The company’s headquarters and core operations remain in Israel. It continues to be fully supervised and regulated by the relevant Israeli authorities, including the Ministry of Defense and the Israeli regulatory framework." Calcalist reported last week that the company was being acquired by a group of American investors led by Hollywood producer Robert Simonds. NSO hasn’t confirmed these details.
NSO Group has been mired in controversy over the years due to its practice of selling its tools to authoritarian governments. The company was banned by the US Commerce Department in 2021 after the Biden administration determined that it had acted “contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the US.”
Dallas, Texas-based MSSP LevelBlue (formerly AT&T Cybersecurity) has agreed to acquire Boston-based cybersecurity firm Cybereason. LevelBlue's CEO and Chairman Bob McCullen stated, "By combining Cybereason’s world-class XDR and DFIR capabilities with our AI-powered MDR and incident response, we can deliver unified protection that’s proactive, scalable, and purpose-built for today’s fast-evolving threats." LevelBlue added, "As part of the transaction, SoftBank Corp., SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Liberty Strategic Capital, known for investing in disruptive and innovative technology, will become investors in LevelBlue, underscoring strong confidence in the company’s long-term strategy and vision." LevelBlue acquired Trustwave and Stroz Friedberg earlier this year, and says Cybereason's XDR capabilities and DFIR services will complement these acquisitions.
Florida-based IT and security management software provider Kaseya has acquired Maryland-based email security company INKY. Kaseya says "INKY will be available as a stand-alone product and included as part of Kaseya 365 User." INKY's founder and CEO Dave Baggett stated, "Joining Kaseya allows us to take that innovation to the next level. Kaseya’s scale, data, and commitment to R&D amplify everything we’ve created, helping us bring our technology to more customers and make email communication safer for everyone."
Boston-based penetration testing company Pentera has acquired Israeli vulnerability remediation platform DevOcean. Pentera says "[t]he acquisition extends Pentera's AI-powered platform, delivering a seamless transition from adversarial testing and risk validation to remediation operations."
French MSSP Nomios has acquired London-headquartered identity and access management company Intragen. Nomois says the acquisition "further strengthens its position as the global trusted partner for cybersecurity across Europe" and "provides access to an expanded portfolio of solutions and services across EMEA." The company added, "[T]he consolidated outlook with Intragen allows the Nomios Group to target an EBITDA of €75 million and a revenue of €650 million in 2026."
Investments and exits.
Prague-based document fraud detection company Resistant AI has raised $25 million in a Series B funding round led by DTCP, with participation from existing investors including Experian, GV, and Notion Capital. The company says it "will use the capital to solidify its position as a profitable EU AI champion by expanding its document fraud detection and transaction monitoring offerings into new territories and partnerships, and build out its threat intelligence capabilities."
Indian data encryption provider Pantherun has raised $12 million in a Series A round led by Sahasrar Capital Investors and Lucky Investment Managers, with participation from Capital 2B, 8X Ventures, Real Time Angel Fund, and Founders Collective Fund. According to BW Disrupt, the funding "will support Pantherun’s global expansion, R&D acceleration, and product innovation."
California-based browser isolation platform provider Authentic8 has secured $12 million in debt financing from Vistara Growth. Visitara says the "debt facility helps Authentic8 refinance and expand its capital base to support the next stage of growth, broadening its technology platform and expanding market reach."
UK-headquartered quantum-ready encryption provider Sitehop has raised £7.5 million (US$10 million) in a funding round led by Northern Gritstone, with participation from existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners, Manta Ray, Mercia Ventures, and NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance. Sitehop's co-founder and CEO Melissa Chambers stated, "[T]his investment from Northern Gritstone supports our mission to grow and scale in the region and build world-leading sovereign encryption capability right here in the UK, accelerating international expansion while keeping the UK at the forefront of cybersecurity innovation."
San Francisco-based runtime application security company Arcjet has announced an $8.3 million Series A round led by Plural and Ott Kaukver, with participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz and Seedcamp.
Greek automated penetration testing platform provider Mind The Hack has secured €2.8 million (US$3.3 million) in seed funding led by Deep Capital Group. The company says the investment "will accelerate the development of our AI-powered cloud platform, strengthen our team in Europe and internationally, and support expansion into strategic markets, with emphasis on the Middle East."
Nymiz, a Spanish startup that anonymizes data for GDPR compliance, has raised €2 million ($2.3 million) in a funding round led by TIN Capital, with participation from existing investors Swanlaab Venture Factory, Auriga Cyber Ventures, SWG Cyber & Defense Fund, and CDTI. The company says the funding "will support Nymiz in consolidating its footprint across major European markets and continuing its expansion into the United States, targeting high-impact industries where privacy, scalability, and innovation converge, such as legal, financial services, healthcare, and technology."
UK-based MSSP Talion has raised £2 million (US$2.6 million) in seed funding from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance. According to FinSMEs, the company "intends to use the funds to expand access to its services for mid-market organisations while scaling the footprint across the UK and US."
London-based data backup and ransomware recovery firm HyperBunker has raised €800,000 (approximately US$925,000) in seed funding led by Fil Rouge Capital and Sunfish Venture Capital. According to SecurityWeek, the funding will increase the company's "production capacity for a new anti-ransomware device."
Executive moves.
Sygnia has appointed Guy Segal as its new CEO. Segal has been with the company for six years, most recently serving as SVP, Head of Corporate Development.
Exabeam has named Pete Harteveld as its new CEO following the retirement of Chris O’Malley. Harteveld most recently served as Exabeam's Chief Revenue Officer.
Arkose Labs has hired Dave Woolwine as Chief Revenue Officer. Woolwine joins Arkose from HackerOne.
Plurilock has named Michael Ruiz as its new Chief Technology Officer and General Manager of Critical Services. Ruiz has previously held senior leadership roles at Honeywell, Raytheon, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Deloitte.
Outpost24 has appointed Martin Roth as Chief Technology Officer. Roth previously held leadership roles at Learnster, Viaplay, and Snow Software (now part of Flexera).
Sophos has appointed Aparna Williams as Chief Legal Officer. Williams has previously served at Coalfire Systems, Shippo, Imperva, and Symantec.
AttackIQ has hired Jon Baker as Vice President of Threat-Informed Defense. Baker spent 23 years at MITRE, where he co-founded and directed the MITRE Center for Threat-Informed Defense (CTID).
Azure Access Technology has added Joseph Grillo to its board of directors.
APIContext has appointed Lelah Manz as chair of the company's board. Manz has spent nearly two decades at Akamai, where she currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Data and Shared Services.