Cybercriminals have become so good at finding new ways to penetrate corporate and government IT systems that they can no longer be entirely blocked. Cybersecurity vendors are being forced to recognize that fact, and one of them,Vectra Networks Inc., has raised another $25 million in funding to detect and prioritize attacks in real time so customers can decide which ones to fight first, Venture Capital Dispatch has learned. The Series C round was led by Accel Partners, with Accel Partner Eric Wolford joining the board.
Accel Partners and existing investors just dropped a new $25 million into Vectra Networks, a security startup deeply connected to U.S. national security officials. Calling itself “the leader in real-time detection of cyber attacks in progress,” Vectra previously raised $17.8 million before it even launched. The startup specializes in enterprise network security. According to Vectra chief Hitesh Sheth, “the reality today is that every network is breached.” Vectra plays a reactive role in the security industry, aiming to catch breeches as they happen. As we’ve previously detailed, Vectra has strong political ties: One of the startup’s advisors “is a Washington, D.C. collective, Rice Hadley Gates, a firm founded by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley, and Dr. Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense in the Bush and Obama administrations. Non-founding member Jane Holl Lute was also the former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.”