Email Security: Area 1’s New Funding, New CEO

Area 1 Security, a company that specializes in pay-per-phish email protection, has raised $25 million in growth funding led by cybersecurity venture fund ForgePoint Capital. The company will use the funding to drive its growth in the cloud email security market, according to a prepared statement.

Also, Area 1 has named Patrick Sweeney as its CEO. Sweeney most recently served as CEO of SD-WAN company Talari Networks (sold to Oracle in 2019) and has held senior executive roles at Dell and SonicWall.

Area 1's early channel partners include Optiv Security (a Top 200 MSSP), SADA Systems (a Top 200 Public Cloud MSP focused on Google Cloud Platform and G Suite), and Synnex (a global distributor).

Area 1's pay-per-phish email security solution identifies and stops phish 24 days before they attack across email, social, web and network attack vectors, the company noted. It preemptively finds and disrupts targeted phish and helps organizations stay ahead of business email compromise (BEC), ransomware and other cyberattacks.

There are no upfront costs or term duration requirements associated with Area 1's solution, the company indicated. Instead, organizations pay only for phish that the solution identifies.

In addition, Area 1's solution can be integrated into secure email gateways (SEGs) and cloud suites in less than 1 hour, the company stated. The solution also works in combination with security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR), security information and event management (SIEM) and other cybersecurity solutions.

INKY Secures $20 Million in Series B Funding

Along with Area 1, email phishing protection company INKY Technology this month raised $20 million in a Series B funding round. INKY is using the funding to expand its go-to-market efforts globally, CEO Dave Baggett said.

Meanwhile, phishing attacks are the top cause of data breaches, Area 1 indicated. As organizations explore ways to combat phishing attacks, they could increasingly use solutions from Area 1, INKY and other email security providers.