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The Oak Park security firm NowSecure, founded in 2009 as viaForensics, has received $12.5 million in Series A funding in a round led by Baird Capital's Venture Group. Jump Capital and Math Venture Partners also got in on the action.
[ibimage==42677==Small==none==self==ibimage_align-left]Hoog's interest in forensics dates back to his time as a CIO for a firm that accidentally hired an employee who, as it turned out, fudged his resume. As he was scrambling to assess the damage, he found that “there's an entire world out there that I didn't realize existed,” he said.
The company's product line includes free Android and iOS downloads that ensures device security, high-level forensics software for commercial clients, and a new Community Edition of its NowSecure App Testing Tool for app developers who want to test for flaws before they ship.
“The recent trend towards BYOD and customer-owned phones makes our tools more essential than ever to help enterprises reduce their risk of data theft. This additional round of funding will allow us to greatly accelerate our product development progress,” said Hoog. “Unlike other offerings, NowSecure is a truly comprehensive mobile security platform for managing mobile risk. We don’t simply scan for known malicious code. We identify vulnerabilities before they become a problem, through forensics, security testing, malware analysis, endpoint protection and ultimately mobile intel data.”
[ibimage==42678==Medium==none==self==ibimage_align-right]Hoog's overall message is one of optimism. When less tech-savvy consumers are overwhelmed by news of devastating hacks on international retailers and celebrities, he said he wants to remind them that there are simple steps they can take to protect themselves.
As the mobile marketplace has exploded, consumer trends have moved more quickly than security concerns. Co-founder Andrew Hoog said that this has created a perfect niche for NowSecure and brought in almost all the high-profile clients his startup could want.
"We figured out the problem,” said Hoog. “We built the software, on our own. And then we realized that we're landing the biggest, most sophisticated buyers in the world." It may seem, then, that this funding round came easily for NowSecure. But the company knows fundraising as well as it knows security, as co-founder and Moxie Award nominee Chee-Young Kim demonstrates in a video.
