Area 1 Security Announces $8 Million Funding Round Led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

MENLO PARK, CA--(Marketwired - Dec 10, 2014) - Area 1 Security, a stealth cybersecurity startup aiming to eliminate targeted and advanced social engineering attacks, today announced it has raised $8 million in a Series A funding round. The latest round brings Area 1 Security's total funding amount to $10.5 million and is led by Ted Schlein at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB).

Area 1 Security will use the capital to advance product development and to expand the company's proprietary technology, which identifies and disrupts the delivery of phishing and other targeted social engineering attacks in the wild.

Founded in 2013 by former NSA leaders including CEO Oren Falkowitz, Blake Darche and Phil Syme, Area 1 Security has more than doubled in size this year, recently adding distinguished industry leaders from Cisco, FireEye, MIT and Solera Networks.

"Targeted social engineering attacks against enterprise networks via phishing, watering holes and malvertising cause the greatest amount of damage to business operations and have gone unchecked for too long," says KPCB general partner Ted Schlein. "Area 1 Security has the unique capability to tackle this challenge at the point of entry and stop advanced-level cyber campaigns before they can cripple an enterprise's brand."

With the addition of KPCB's Ted Schlein to its board, the company is well positioned to deliver its novel technology to actively identify and prevent advanced socially-engineered attacks before they impact enterprise networks.

"Social engineering attacks are one of the top pain points for security teams today, with adversaries using them as an effective means to gain access into enterprise networks," said John N. Stewart, chief security and trust officer at Cisco Systems. "Enterprises have to complement education and awareness internally with an external point of view about the enterprises' adversaries, their intentions, and their ongoing actions, to best protect themselves."

In addition to KPCB, previous investors in Area 1 Security's seed round have again invested in the company's Series A round, including Allegis Capital, Cowboy Ventures; Data Collective (DCVC); First Round Capital; RedSeal Networks CEO and former Venrock partner Ray Rothrock; and Shape Security CEO Derek Smith.

"Area 1's growth over the past year is a testament to the massive problem space we are targeting," says Oren Fakowitz, CEO, Area 1 Security. "With this latest round of funding and recent executive hires from the top companies and research institutions across the industry, we have what it takes to perfect our next-generation product and deliver a truly new and dynamic solution to the enterprise."

Area 1 Security is growing quickly and hiring aggressively at all levels. To learn more, visit Area1Security.com.

About Area 1 Security
Based in Menlo Park, CA, Area 1 Security is developing a product focused on eliminating targeted, socially engineered cyber attacks. Founded by security experts from NSA and MIT, and data analytics specialists from NSA and Disney, the stealth mode startup has raised $10.5 million in total funding to date. Investors include Ted Schlein at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Allegis Capital, Cowboy Ventures; Data Collective (DCVC); First Round Capital; RedSeal Networks CEO and former Venrock partner Ray Rothrock; and Shape Security CEO Derek Smith.

About Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB)
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) partners with the brightest entrepreneurs to turn disruptive ideas into world-changing businesses. The firm has helped build pioneering companies like Amazon, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Google, Nest, Netscape, and Twitter. KPCB offers entrepreneurs years of operating experience, puts them at the center of a vast and influential network, and accelerates their success through expertise and support in recruiting, product design and delivery, business development, strategic partnerships, and brand building. KPCB invests in all stages from seed and incubation to growth companies and operates from offices in Menlo Park, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Beijing. For more information, visit https://www.kpcb.com and follow us @kpcb.

For more information, visit www.area1security.com.