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LifeLock

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LifeLock by Norton
Company typePublic
IndustrySoftware
Founded2005; 19 years ago (2005) in Tempe, Arizona
Defunct2017; 7 years ago (2017)
FateAcquired by Symantec
ProductsIdentity theft prevention software

LifeLock by Norton was an American software company active from 2005 to 2017, and was best known for its eponymous LifeLock identity theft prevention software, now sold by Gen Digital after the latter acquired LifeLock in 2017. LifeLock's system monitors for identity theft, the use of personal information, and credit score changes.[1][2]

LifeLock was acquired by computer security company Symantec in 2017 for $2.3 billion.[3] After Symantec sold its enterprise division to Broadcom, the company was renamed from Symantec to NortonLifeLock in November 2019, and Gen Digital Inc. in 2022.[4] In the same year, the company began to offer versions of its Norton 360 subscription service with LifeLock included.

History

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LifeLock was co-founded in 2005 by Robert J. Maynard and Todd Davis.

Maynard began his career by founding the Internet Service Provider (ISP) Internet America in the late 1990s.[5] Former LifeLock CEO Davis worked for Dell before founding Marketing Champions, an advertising and marketing firm.[6]

Maynard resigned from LifeLock in June 2007 after claims that he was a victim of identity theft came under scrutiny.[7][8] Davis publicly posted his Social Security number as part of a 2007 ad campaign to promote the company's identity theft protection services. However, Davis was a victim of 13 cases of identity theft between 2007 and 2008.[9][10] Regarding the campaign, Davis said, "We were trying to make the point that ... all it takes is one data breach. The point of that campaign was to take proactive steps to protect your identity."[11]

In December 2008, LifeLock entered into an agreement with TransUnion, one of the three main credit bureaus, to automate the process of alerting customers of potential unauthorized access via their credit reports.[12]

As part of a 2009 settlement with Experian related to false fraud alerts allegations, LifeLock set up a service that does not rely on fraud alerts.[13][14][15]

In March 2012, LifeLock acquired ID Analytics, which operates independently as a wholly owned subsidiary[16] Following LifeLock's initial public offering (IPO) announcement in August 2012,[17] Hilary Schneider joined the company as president.[18]

In December 2013, LifeLock acquired Lemon Wallet, a digital wallet platform, for $42.6 million.[19][20][21]

In 2015, the FTC obtained a $100 million monetary penalty against LifeLock with $68 million held for class-action refunds to customers in relation to false advertising and failed service delivery allegations.[22][23]

In January 2016, the company announced that Hilary Schneider would replace Todd Davis as CEO.[18]

LifeLock was acquired by Symantec for $2.3 billion on February 9, 2017.[24][25] The company subsequently began to offer its Norton subscription services with LifeLock included.[26]

Funding

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The company started with $2 million in seed funding with another $5 million in its Series A funding in 2006 from Bessemer Ventures.[27]

LifeLock raised $6 million in its series B funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in April 2007.[27] The following January, its Series C Funding raised $25 million, led by Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.[28] In August 2009, a series D funding round raised $40 million for the company.[29] In March 2013, LifeLock raised $100 million in new equity funding from Bessemer Ventures Partners, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Symantec Corporation, and River Street Management.[30] The funds were used towards the acquisition of ID Analytics, an identity theft risk prediction technology.[16]

LifeLock announced plans to take its identity theft protection business public[17] and filed for an IPO worth up to $175 million on August 28, 2012.[31] The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange starting October 3, 2012, trading under the symbol LOCK.[32] LifeLock filed a form with the Securities and Exchange Commission to voluntarily deregister its common stock in 2017 after its acquisition by Symantec for $2.3 billion.[3][33]

Following Symantec's name change in November 2019, Symantec's stock symbol became NLOK.[34]

Controversies

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Robert J. Maynard, Jr., a co-founder of the company, resigned in June 2007 following a controversial story published in Phoenix New Times about his past. The story involved bankruptcy, FTC investigation, and identity theft.[35][7][8]

LifeLock was fined $12 million by the Federal Trade Commission in March 2010 for deceptive advertising.[36] The FTC called the company's prior marketing claims misleading to consumers by claiming to be a 100% guarantee against all forms of identity theft.[37]

In 2015, the FTC found LifeLock to be in contempt of the 2010 agreement, charging that they "failed to establish and maintain a comprehensive information security program", and "falsely advertised that it protected consumers' sensitive data". The FTC obtained a $100 million monetary penalty against LifeLock to settle the contempt charge. Of that fine, $68 million was held for class-action refunds to LifeLock customers.

2022 data breach

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In December 2022, LifeLock servers suffered an attack using credential stuffing, and over 6,000 user accounts had their details disclosed, including names, addresses and phone number. The method of attack was to use credentials from previous unrelated breaches. This resulted in a large number of failed login attempts on 16 December 2022. Notification of the breach was sent in January 2023.[38]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Carlson, Debbie (January 31, 2014). "Protect financial information from theft". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  2. ^ Fox, Emily Jane (December 19, 2013). "4 things to do after your credit card has been hacked". CNN Money. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Symantec to acquire LifeLock for $2.3 billion". Reuters. 2016-11-20. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  4. ^ "NortonLifeLock Merges With Avast to Form New Company Called 'Gen'". PCMAG. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  5. ^ Stern, Ray (2007-05-31). "What Happened in Vegas..." Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  6. ^ "High Five: Meet Todd Davis, CEO Of LifeLock". InformationWeek. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  7. ^ a b Zetter, Kim (2007-06-11). "LifeLock Founder Resigns Amid Controversy". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  8. ^ a b Casacchia, Chris (2007-06-12). "LifeLock founder resigns amid questions about his past". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
  9. ^ Zetter, Kim (2010-05-18). "LifeLock CEO's Identity Stolen 13 Times". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on 2010-05-21. Retrieved 2016-12-17.
  10. ^ Vijayan, Jaikumar (2010-05-19). "LifeLock CEO said to be victim of identity theft 13 times". Computerworld. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  11. ^ Lowery, Ilana (February 20, 2014). "LifeLock CEO shares more than SSN in first 'Reporter's Notebook' event". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  12. ^ O'Grady, Patrick (2008-12-17). "LifeLock, TransUnion team to fight identity theft". Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  13. ^ "Fraud-prevention pitchman becomes ID theft victim". Archived from the original on 2008-05-26. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
  14. ^ Desmond, Maurna (2008-02-21). "Experian Sues LifeLock For 'Abusing' Fraud Alert System". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  15. ^ Johnson, Andrew (2009-10-23). "LifeLock, Experian settle case over alerts". The Arizona Republic. Gannett Company. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  16. ^ a b Rao, Leena (March 15, 2012). "Identity Theft Protection Company LifeLock Raises $100M From Kleiner, Symantec; Acquires ID Analytics". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  17. ^ a b "Security company LifeLock files for IPO of up to $175 million". Reuters. 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  18. ^ a b "Former Top Yahoo Exec Hilary Schneider Promoted to CEO of LifeLock". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  19. ^ Fitchard, Kevin (December 12, 2013). "LifeLock buys mobile wallet Lemon for $42.6M". Gigaom. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  20. ^ Fiegerman, Seth (December 12, 2013). "LifeLock Acquires Lemon App For $42 Million to Develop Digital Wallet". Mashable. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  21. ^ Perez, Sarah (December 12, 2013). "LifeLock Acquires Mobile Wallet Platform Lemon For $42.6 Million, Launches LifeLock Wallet". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  22. ^ "LifeLock to Pay $100 Million to Consumers to Settle FTC Charges it Violated 2010 Order". December 17, 2015.
  23. ^ Nichols, Shaun. "LifeLock didn't live up to their hype, and now they're $100m lighter". The Register. Situation Publishing. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  24. ^ Molina, Brett. "Symantec to acquire LifeLock for $2.3B". USA Today. No. 2016–11–21. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  25. ^ "Symantec completes acquisition of Tempe's LifeLock for $2.3B". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  26. ^ Athow, Desire (29 April 2019). "Norton adds a VPN and more to its refreshed 360 products". TechRadar. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  27. ^ a b Malik, Om (April 23, 2007). "Lifelock gets $6 million from Kleiner Perkins". Gigaom. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  28. ^ Kress, Adam (January 23, 2008). "LifeLock gains $25 million in third-round funding to support growth". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  29. ^ Marshall, Matt (August 5, 2009). "Symantec helps pump $40M into identity theft protection company Lifelock". VentureBeat. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  30. ^ O'Grady, Patrick (March 14, 2012). "LifeLock gets $100 million investment, purchases ID Analytics". Bizjournals.com.
  31. ^ "Lifelock expects to price IPO at $9.50-$11.50". MarketWatch. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  32. ^ "LifeLock IPO brings in about $141 million". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  33. ^ Staff 8-k, M. E. "LifeLock, Inc. (NYSE:LOCK) Files An 8-K Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement - Market Exclusive". Retrieved 2020-02-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  34. ^ "Goodbye, Symantec: Consumer business gets rebrand". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  35. ^ Ray Stern (30 May 2007). "What Happened in Vegas". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on 2009-04-04. Retrieved 14 November 2021. In April 2005, local entrepreneur Robert J. Maynard Jr. was beyond broke.
  36. ^ Singel, Ryan (2012-10-03). "LifeLock's IPO Is Unimpressive, But Not as Bad as Its Checkered Past". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  37. ^ "LifeLock, Inc., a corporation". Federal Trade Commission. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  38. ^ "Norton LifeLock says thousands of customer accounts breached". uk.news.yahoo.com. 2023-01-15. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
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