Hot Cybersecurity Companies. PHOTO: Cybercrime Magazine.

10 Hot Cybersecurity Companies to Follow in February 2020

Who’s who fighting cybercrime

– Kayla Matthews

Pittsburgh, Pa. — Feb. 19, 2020

Special coverage of Cybercrime Magazine’s Hot 150 Cybersecurity Companies.

Cybersecurity is a top priority for information technology teams these days. As both the capabilities and reliability of security technologies continue to improve, unfortunately so do data breaches, cyberattacks and malicious code.

Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that global spending on cybersecurity products and services will reach $1 trillion cumulatively for the five-year period covering 2017 to 2021. In other words, cybersecurity investments are shooting through the roof, and for a good reason. Many organizations are focusing on the protection of virtual assets, customer data included.

To achieve a higher state of cyber resilience, enterprises look to cybersecurity tools and platforms from third parties. It makes sense to note some cybersecurity companies to watch, then, especially those that are on Cybersecurity Ventures’ radar screen.

Here are 10 hot cybersecurity-focused companies that everyone should follow, from March 2020 and beyond.

1. Absolute

Based out of Vancouver, Canada, Absolute provides an excellent endpoint visibility control platform. The company already services over 12,000 customers through self-healing endpoint security. The primary focus is generating complete visibility for connected systems, users, applications and more.

In January, the company signed on Dianne Lapierre as chief information officer. Lapierre has over 20 years of experience in the IT, security and leadership sectors. The company is in good hands with her on board.

2. Deep Instinct

Hailing from New York, N.Y., Deep Instinct has an innovative approach to cybersecurity and infosec. With artificial intelligence and deep learning at the helm, its platform has the power to deliver predictive insights. The related system is capable of protecting against zero-day threats, advanced persistent threat attacks and so much more.

The Deep Instinct platform helps safeguard network and device endpoints through targeted, learned methods.

More recently, Deep Instinct raised $43 million in Series C funding to help accelerate growth.

The company also announced an OEM partnership with HP, which will see its unique deep-learning threat prevention engine on EliteBook and ZBook devices.

3. IronScales

Another form of threat involves social engineering, where hackers use phishing attempts to prey on the sensibilities of others, particularly employees and industry professionals. IronScales, based out of Tel Aviv, Israel, offers a self-learning email security platform designed to combat all phishing attempts. No matter how robust or secure platforms are, phishing attacks can still bring an organization to its knees — especially when targeting the right personnel.

IronScales’ platform provides security at the inbox, through intelligent automation and monitoring. More importantly, the speed and efficiency of the service mean no distractions, yet there’s adequate protection.

In recent years, the company has earned many awards, including “Top Innovation” in Spear Phishing Market, Winner of Frost & Sullivan’s 2018 Technology Innovation Award and a spot on Forbes’ “25 Machine Learning Startups to Watch” list.

4. KnowBe4

From sunny Clearwater, Fla., KnowBe4 is a security awareness and human error training platform. The idea is to assist organizations by providing engaging information security training regimens, particularly to those down in the trenches. By building awareness and educating employees, companies can better protect themselves from various social engineering and human error attacks.

None other than Kevin Mitnick rigorously created the security program. At one time, he was one of the most wanted computer criminals in the United States, but now he is a security consultant, author and teacher at KnowBe4.

5. Mimecast

Based in London, UK, Mimecast is primarily an email, data and web security provider. The company offers an integrated, cloud-based platform that relies on its unique structure — called Email Security 3.0 — to protect all communications.

However, the company is now branching out into new areas, as evidenced by the Mimecast Case Review service. It’s a specialized user interface — via the Mimecast platform — that helps improve e-discovery or the analysis of digital documents and content. It will be particularly useful in the legal industry for IT teams that spend time poring over law documents.



6. MobileIron

Mobile is the go-to platform now, especially for active, dynamic organizations where people are always on the move. That’s precisely why the Mountain View, Calif.-based MobileIron is a promising brand to watch this year. A longtime leader in mobile management solutions, MobileIron looks to bolster security with its Threat Defense and Intuitive Access solutions.

The company has been speaking out against the validity of 5G networks, citing major security concerns with the new wireless communications standard. Being a mobile company first, brand proponents know their stuff, which means we should all be listening.

7. Payfone

From New York, N.Y., Payfone is a digital trust and identity authentication provider that focuses on forward-facing initiatives. It has designed its security model to improve the customer experience, validating identities through a seamless process while ultimately improving trust and satisfaction.

Customer experience strategies are highly regarded in today’s market, and Payfone’s offerings are no exception. For 2019, Deloitte named Payfone one of the fastest-growing companies on their Technology Fast 500 list.

8. Qualys

From Foster City, Calif., Qualys is an IT security and compliance provider that manages a single cloud platform for all information security requirements.

They have painstakingly designed their company “from the ground up for the digital transformation,” which is sorely needed in today’s landscape. With the tool, companies can build security, compliance and productivity into digital transformation initiatives.

This year, Qualys is partnering with Google to embed its cloud agent into the major tech firm’s cloud computing platform.

9. Sumo Logic

Based out of Redwood City, Calif., Sumo Logic is a cloud operation and security analysis provider that manages a “continuous intelligence platform” for DevSecOps. Over 2,000 companies around the world already rely on Sumo Logic’s program, which enables them to secure and deliver applications at cloud scale.

Cloud scaling and increased reactivity are two of the most significant benefits of cloud computing technologies. The result is an unprecedented level of flexibility which cloud platforms — and Sumo Logic — make possible.

Sumo Logic just announced two new on-demand analytics and archiving services that will massively boost intelligence operations for its partners. 

10. Vectra

Located in San Jose, Calif., Vectra offers an intelligent threat detection and response solution powered by AI. The cloud-native service helps secure assets and fight against potential data breaches and cyberattacks. As the team openly states, “Prevention is dead,” and everyone will become compromised at some point.

Instead, its tool focuses on adequately dealing with risks and attacks through sustained, intelligent monitoring. Features include the option to respond to behaviors and patterns, prioritize risk through privilege monitoring and automatically isolate events for a complete view of what’s happening.

Vectra recently expanded its leadership by appointing Willem Hendrickx as vice president of international sales. With over 25 years of experience, Hendrickx will surely help the company move into new markets, sparking growth and success.

Cybersecurity Companies to Watch in March 2020 and More

Whether you work in the cybersecurity industry or keep up with it as a casual observer, 2020 has already been an exciting year for developments within this evolving space.

This list is only the tip of the iceberg of companies that are making waves within the field of cybersecurity.

– Kayla Matthews is a technology journalist and cybersecurity writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. To read more from Kayla, visit her website.

Hot 150 Cybersecurity Companies Archives