Synack

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For SYN-ACK, see Transmission Control Protocol.
Synack, Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustrySecurity
Founded2013 in California
FoundersJay Kaplan, Mark Kuhr
Headquarters
Redwood City, California
,
United States
Key people
Jay Kaplan (CEO)
ProductsSecurity assessment
Number of employees
250 (2020)
Websitesynack.com

Synack is an American technology company based in Redwood City, California.[1][2][3] The company combines AI and machine learning enabled security software with a crowdsourced network of white-hat hackers to help keep its customers secure.[4] The software provides security testing through a SaaS platform to find exploitable vulnerabilities for reconnaissance.[5] The company offers its services to government agencies and businesses in retail, healthcare and manufacturing industry.[6][7]

According to Bloomberg, Synack is "the most trusted crowdsourced penetration testing platform."[8] It is valued at US $500M as of May 2020, as per Fortune Magazine.[9]

Overview[]

Synack was founded in 2013 by former NSA agents Jay Kaplan and Mark Kuhr. Synack uses a network of freelance security analysts, or hackers, in over 80 countries to check vulnerability and security problems.[2][3][4][10][11]

In 2018, Synack worked with US Department of Defense to strengthen the Hack the Pentagon initiative, by vetting ethical hackers for continual assessment of defense websites, hardware and physical systems.[12] In June 2020, the company partnered with DARPA to check for data leakage and buffer errors in their new security prototype developed through the System Security Integration Through Hardware (SSITH) program.[13][14] In July 2020, the Colorado secretary of state’s office partnered with Synack to conduct penetration tests of its election systems ahead of the presidential vote.[15]

Funding[]

Synack is funded by 16 investors. In April 2014, the company announced it had secured Series A funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, Google Ventures, Allegis Capital, and Derek Smith of Shape Security.[1][3][16] In February 2015, the company raised $25 million in Series B funding.[1][17]

In April 2017, it raised $21 million from Microsoft Ventures, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Singtel and prior investors.[4][11][18]

Achievements[]

By April 11, 2017, Synack had 100 employees as well as a growing network of freelance hackers.[2][4]

CNBC named Synack a "CNBC Disruptor" company four times in a row, from 2015 to 2019.[19][20][21] In 2019, the company was again named among CNBC Disruptor 50 for Innovative Crowdsourced Security Platform.[8]

In 2020, the company was featured in America's Most Promising Artificial Intelligence Companies list by Forbes magazine and was also named in Gartner’s Top 25 Enterprise Software Startups.[22][23]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Vinton, Kate (February 19, 2015). "Synack Raises $25 Million In Series B Funding To Crowdsource Security Globally". Forbes. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Kirk, Jeremy (October 21, 2015). "Synack builds intel platform for its penetration testers". PCWorld. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Lev-Ram, Michal (April 24, 2014). "For crowdsourced security startup, a carrot and a hack". Fortune. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Miller, Ron (April 11, 2017). "Security startup Synack scores $21M investment from Microsoft, HPE and Singtel". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  5. ^ Kuchler, Hannah (April 11, 2017). "Hacker-for-hire company Synack raises $21m". Financial Times. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  6. ^ Staff (15 May 2019). "Synack 2019 Disruptor 50". CNBC.
  7. ^ "Synack's $52 Million Investment Fuels Future of Remote Security Testing from World's Elite Hackers". Businesswire. 28 May 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Synack Named to the 2019 CNBC Disruptor 50 for Innovative Crowdsourced Security Platform". Bloomberg.com. 2020-09-03. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  9. ^ Hackett, Robert (May 28, 2020). "Bug bounty startup Synack valued at $500 million to boost 'white hat' hacking from home". Fortune.
  10. ^ Yadron, Danny (2015-02-19). "Startup Takes Aim at Computer-Security Holes". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Larson, Selena. "Why the Pentagon wants people to hack it". CNNMoney. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  12. ^ Cordell, Carten (October 24, 2018). "DOD expands Hack the Pentagon program to cover hardware, systems". www.fedscoop.com.
  13. ^ Staff (June 8, 2020). "DARPA Announces First Bug Bounty Program to Hack SSITH Hardware Defenses". www.darpa.mil.
  14. ^ Hatmaker, Taylor (June 6, 2018). "Synack is the latest cybersecurity company to offer state elections its services for free". TechCrunch.
  15. ^ Freed, Benjamin (28 July 2020). "Colorado official details plans for penetration testing of election systems". StateScoop.
  16. ^ "Security testing platform Synack raises $7.5M". VatorNews. 2014-04-24. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  17. ^ "Why the hackers at Synack need $25M to hunt down major security flaws | VentureBeat". venturebeat.com. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
  18. ^ Liam Tung. "Ex-NSA bug bounty startup Synack lands $21m, eyes Australia for growth". CSO Australia. IDG Australia. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  19. ^ "Meet the 2015 CNBC Disruptor 50 companies". CNBC. May 12, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  20. ^ "Meet the 2016 CNBC Disruptor 50 companies". CNBC. May 7, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  21. ^ "Meet the 2017 CNBC Disruptor 50 companies". CNBC. May 16, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  22. ^ Ohnsman, Alan (July 3, 2020). "AI 50: America's Most Promising Artificial Intelligence Companies". Forbes magazine.
  23. ^ Columbus, Louis (July 5, 2020). "Gartner's Top 25 Enterprise Software Startups To Watch In 2020". Forbes magazine.

External links[]

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