Allure Security, a Boston-based data loss detection and response (DDR) platform provider, has raised $5.3 million in a seed funding round led by venture capital firm Glasswing Ventures. Investment firms Greycroft, Portage Partners and Zetta Venture Partners also participated in the funding round.
Allure will use the seed funding to explore ways to enhance its DDR platform and bolster its team, the company said. Furthermore, Glasswing Managing Partner Rick Grinnell will join Allure's board of directors.
What Is the Allure DDR Platform?
Allure's DDR platform, Novo, uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning technologies to provide organizations with full document visibility and control, according to the company.
Novo tracks documents moving between people and devices, Allure stated. It tags real data with beacons, Allure said, and maps all locations where beaconized documents are accessed.
Key features of Novo include:
- No Agent Required: Novo tracks and protects documents wherever they go with beacons that notify end users when suspicious movement is detected or if documents appear outside a geofence. It also operates invisibly within a cloud and network.
- Real-Time Data Loss Detection: Novo identifies sources of compromise in real-time, empowering security professionals to take immediate action to stop data loss.
- Active Defense: Novo uses decoy technology that obfuscates an organization's critical data. It creates realistic and enticing files that act as advanced behavioral sensors to alert security staff of any potential problems in real-time.
In addition, Novo learns what normal document flow behavior looks like across an organization, Allure indicated. If Novo detects a suspicious or geofence violation activity, it sends an alert to affected users to help reduce the risk of data loss.
What Does the Future Hold for Allure?
Allure developed Novo with $10 million in Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funding, and the company has made several recent moves to further improve its DDR platform and expand its global reach.
In November, Allure unveiled Novo 2.1, which includes support for European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance and other regulations. Novo 2.1 enables organizations to detect and respond to advanced persistent threats (APT), malware and insider threats before data is stolen, Allure said in a prepared statement.
Allure in November also appointed Mark Jaffe as its CEO and John Sullivan as its VP of sales.
Jaffe co-founded Prelert, a behavioral analytics firm that was acquired by Elastic in 2016. He formerly served as the worldwide VP of firewall and behavioral analysis sales at McAfee and led sales teams at startups Securify and OnLink.
Prior to joining Allure, Sullivan served as VP of sales at intelligent cybersecurity system provider Uplevel Security. Sullivan now is focused on helping Allure expand in the enterprise market, particularly in the financial services, healthcare, government and pharmaceutical sectors, the company said.
