Cylance
 | This article contains promotional content. (March 2019) |
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary[1] |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer security |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Services | Anti-virus, anti-malware |
| Revenue |  $189 Million(2021) |
Number of employees | 760[2] |
| Parent | BlackBerry Limited |
| Website | Cylance.com |
Cylance Inc. is an American software firm based in Irvine, California,[3] that develops antivirus programs and other kinds of computer software that prevents viruses and malware.
In February 2019, the company was acquired by BlackBerry Limited for $1.4 billion.[4][5] After the acquisition, it continues to operate as an independent subsidiary and will remain headquartered in Irvine, California.
Founding
[edit]Cylance was founded by Stuart McClure and Ryan Permeh in 2012. McClure was previously co-founder of Foundstone, a security consultancy. He sold Foundstone to McAfee in 2004, and became that firm's Chief Tech Officer.[6]
Funding
[edit]A July 2015 report indicated that Cylance had raised $42 million from investors including Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Dell, Capital One, and TenEleven Ventures.[6] It received another $100 million in June 2016 with lead investors Blackstone Tactical Opportunities (part of The Blackstone Group) and Insight Venture Partners.[7] They received an investment from In-Q-Tel in September 2015.[8][9]
Operation Cleaver
[edit]Operation Cleaver was a covert cyberwarfare operation allegedly carried out by the Iranian government against targets worldwide, specifically critical infrastructure entities. Cylance published a report about the operation in late 2014. Iranian officials rejected Cylance's conclusions, but the FBI tacitly confirmed them.[10][11][12]
Controversies
[edit]Malware scandal
[edit]In November 2016, a systems engineer evaluated 48 files of malware samples provided by Cylance for testing their protection system "Protect", and found that 7 of them weren't malware.[13] This led to an accusation that Cylance was using the test to look superior to its opponents by providing files that other products would fail to detect as malware.[14] In response, Cylance executives said that they used repackaged malware samples for testing.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Cylance in Irvine bought by BlackBerry for $1.4 billion". Feb 22, 2019.
- ^ Work, Great Place to. "Working at Cylance". Great Place to Work.
- ^ "Company Overview of Cylance Inc". Bloomberg L.P.
- ^ "BlackBerry to Acquire Cylance and Add Premier AI and Cybersecurity Capabilities".
- ^ "BlackBerry: What the Cylance Acquisition Means for Cyber Business | Fortune".
- ^ a b Hackett, Robert (Jul 28, 2015). "Cylance raises $42 million for AI-based security software". Fortune Magazine.
- ^ "Cylance Announces $100 Million Series D Funding Round Led by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Insight Venture Partners". Wallstreet-online.de. Wallstreet:Online AG. 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
- ^ "Cylance Announces Strategic Partnership with In-Q-Tel". In-Q-Tel. In-Q-Tel. 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
- ^ "Cylance". In-Q-Tel. In-Q-Tel. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
- ^ Plummer, Quinten (December 15, 2014). "Operation Cleaver is Bigger Threat than Previously Thought, FBI Warns US Businesses". Tech Times. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^ Bertrand, Natasha (December 8, 2014). "Iran Is Officially A Real Player In The Global Cyber War". Business Insider. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^ Riley, Michael A; Robertson, Jordan (December 2, 2014). "Iran-Backed Hackers Target Airports, Carriers: Report". Bloomberg News. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^ Gallagher, Sean (2017-04-17). "Lawyers, malware, and money: The antivirus market's nasty fight over Cylance". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ "Cyber Security Company Cylance Faces Fraud Controversy As Layoffs Continue". SnapMunk. 2017-04-21. Retrieved 2022-07-13.