Cybersecurity Startups Aim to Anticipate Attacks

In the cybersecurity world, the term “antivirus” is out of favor. (“McAfee” is even more so, thanks to its namesake’s behavior, but that’s another story.) Software and firewalls designed to detect and eradicate viruses on your system or business network—such as what Symantec, McAfee (now known as Intel Security), Cisco, and Check Point provide—still leave customers vulnerable to attacks, according to Nicole Perlroth’s report in the New York Times.

(Image via Shutterstock)
(Image via Shutterstock)
(Image via Shutterstock)

In the cybersecurity world, the term “antivirus” is out of favor. (“McAfee” is even more so, thanks to its namesake’s behavior, but that’s another story.) Software and firewalls designed to detect and eradicate viruses on your system or business network—such as what Symantec, McAfee (now known as Intel Security), Cisco, and Check Point provide—still leave customers vulnerable to attacks, according to Nicole Perlroth’s report in the New York Times.

To survive today’s vicious threats, companies want tools that predict the attacks that are coming and put up defenses before they show up. Intrusion prevention is the name of the game.

Perlroth reports that small upstarts FireEye and Palo Alto Networks are among those challenging Intel and Symantec with products that do just that. Others in the booming field capturing VC dollars include Skyhigh NetworksLookout, and OpenDNS. And some have already been acquired: FireEye paid $1 billion for Mandiant this month, and another, Sourcefire, went to Cisco for $2.7 billion last year.

The pricetags are little wonder: The research firm Gartner projects an $87 billion market by 2016.

Related Posts
See All

Cyberwar: It’s a MAD MAD World

As society relies ever more on the Internet, cyberwar and its unpredictable consequences has become our 21st century bogeyman. And the country most responsible for letting this particular genie out of its bottle, as with...

Responsible AI is Good for Business, says Advocate Mutale Nkonde

In the cybersecurity world, the term "antivirus" is out of favor. ("McAfee" is even more so, thanks to its namesake's behavior, but that's another story.) Software and firewalls designed to detect and eradicate viruses on...

Vint Cerf’s Take on AI, The Metaverse, and Green Power

In the cybersecurity world, the term "antivirus" is out of favor. ("McAfee" is even more so, thanks to its namesake's behavior, but that's another story.) Software and firewalls designed to detect and eradicate viruses on...

AI Could Make Humans Even Less Exceptional

In the cybersecurity world, the term "antivirus" is out of favor. ("McAfee" is even more so, thanks to its namesake's behavior, but that's another story.) Software and firewalls designed to detect and eradicate viruses on...