Did you know? Around half of the traffic online comes from bots. So it is crucial to manage bots since both malicious and helpful bot exists on the Internet. In 2021, around $261M has been invested in best-of-breed bot management technology. Analysts have predicted that the bot management market is set to grow rapidly.
In Forrester Analytics: Application Security Solutions Forecast, 2020 To 2025 (Global), Forrester predicts that the application security solutions market will grow from $4.7B in 2019 to $12.9B by 2025 and that bot management will overtake traditional Web Application Firewall (WAF) solutions.
Thanks to automation, bots have learned how to avoid current detection tools by acting as humans do when visiting a website. As bots are getting more sophisticated, many companies have started using tools to prevent them from completing their assigned tasks, ranging from taking down sites to scraping data from a website. Netacea is one such company that’s dealing with bot detection and mitigation based on behavioural analysis and machine learning engines.
Largest investment to date
Based out of Manchester, Netacea announced that it has secured $12M (approx £9M) funding in the Series A round. Investors in this Series A round include Rupert Cook (Chairman, Netacea), Gerhard Watzinger (Chairman Crowdstrike), Marcin Kleczynski (CEO, Malwarebytes), Alex Eckelberry (NED, Malwarebytes and Former Non-Executive Director, KnowBe4), and John Viega (former CEO, Capsule8).
Alex Eckelberry, NED, Malwarebytes, says: “A simplistic rules-based approach to bot management won’t cut it anymore. Security suites need to be supported by dedicated bot management solutions that can respond to new threats and take advantage of new threat intelligence. Netacea’s agentless approach is the right one.”
How will the funding be used?
The funding will enable Netacea to accelerate its expansion in the UK and US, where the business sees significant opportunities for growth, claims the company. In the US, Netacea’s works with customers including Shutterstock, and this growth is supported by a channel programme and US leadership team. Further, the company will grow its technical team, specifically in development, data science, data analysis, and threat research.
In the UK, Netacea also works with ClearScore, AllSaints, or William Hill. Malwarebytes is a customer too.
Detects and mitigates bot attacks
Founded by Andy Still, and Jeremy Gidlow, Netacea is a cybersecurity platform that detects and mitigates against bot attacks that target mobile, website, and API applications. The company’s Intent Analytics engine analyses web and API logs in near real-time to identify and mitigate bot threats. It gives businesses transparent, actionable threat intelligence that empowers them to make informed decisions about their traffic.
Netacea’s unique agentless approach does not require code to be inserted on customers’ web pages, allowing it to stay hidden from attackers while also protecting mobile apps and APIs.
Jeremy Gidlow, CEO and Co-founder, Netacea, says, “We’re delighted to close this new round of funding—the support and business expertise from our investors has been invaluable in taking Netacea from a new product to an established and confident business. We have already won some big U.S. customers, such as Shutterstock, and look forward to continuing our push into the U.S. market.”
