Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    PhishMe Raises $13M for Phishing Awareness Technology

    By
    Sean Michael Kerner
    -
    March 26, 2015
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      phishing attacks

      Security vendor PhishMe today announced that it has raised $13 million in a Series B round of funding that included the participation of Paladin Capital Group and Aldrich Capital Partners.

      PhishMe’s Series A round in 2012 raised $2.5 million, bringing the total funding to date up to $15.5 million.

      PhishMe aims to give organizations a leg up in dealing with the risk of phishing emails by helping to train employees to identify potential phishing risks. Phishing emails are seemingly authentic emails designed to trick users into clicking or performing an action that will end up doing some form of harm. With the new funding, the plan is to expand PhishMe’s technology to the next stage of its evolution.

      “From a behavior management standpoint, we try to positively influence employee behavior about phishing attacks, which can be very sophisticated,” Rohyt Belani, CEO and co-founder of PhishMe, told eWEEK.

      In the last three years, the techniques and methods used in phishing attacks have changed; so PhishMe has been continuously improving how it works to limit phishing risks, Belani said. One key thing that PhishMe has learned is that it’s not always necessary to get too technical with employees about phishing.

      Many attacks can be thwarted if an employee notices that a given email has something out of context in it, Belani said. As an example, Belani said, if he received an email from PhishMe CTO and the email starts off with “Dear Rohyt,” he would know something is wrong since the CTO never starts his emails that way.

      “A lot of people think that technical ninjutsu needs to happen by dissecting Web addresses and doing crazy sandbox analysis,” Belani said. “We humans can apply a different form of intelligence.”

      PhishMe has found that by adding human common sense to technology, many phishing attacks can be thwarted, he said.

      The other key thing that PhishMe has learned over the years is that most humans, whether they admit it or not, have some form of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and will not sit through a 45-minute training session on phishing. As such, the PhishMe approach to education is to have training options that are delivered in smaller pieces—lasting from 90 seconds to 2 minutes—in the form of an engaging video or an infographic.

      “We have found that succinct education done periodically is a lot better than infrequent education done in large lots,” Belani said.

      PhishMe plans to launch a new product in the next several weeks that will go beyond just training. The goal is to bust the myth that humans are the weakest link in security, Belani said.

      “We have found that humans can be the strongest asset for enterprise security,” he said. “As people get conditioned to recognize phishing attacks, they want to be helpful and they want to report suspicious emails, as they see them in their inbox.”

      Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.

      Sean Michael Kerner
      Sean Michael Kerner is an Internet consultant, strategist, and contributor to several leading IT business web sites.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×