Expansion of Cybersecurity Firm MokN in the UK Following Series A Funding
A prominent French cybersecurity enterprise, MokN, renowned for its innovative approach to thwarting credential theft, is poised for substantial growth in the United Kingdom after securing Series A funding.
MokN has successfully raised $15 million, spearheaded by GV (Google Ventures), with notable support from DataDog and existing investors, including Moonfire and OVNI Capital, alongside various angel investors.
Phishing continues to dominate as the foremost method of cyber intrusion across Europe, representing an alarming 60% of documented incidents.
In the UK, a staggering 43% of organizations reported experiencing a cyberattack or data breach within the last year, primarily propelled by phishing tactics, with a pronounced surge in assaults involving credential theft.
In response to these alarming trends, MokN has devised a ‘phish-back’ solution, engineered to outmaneuver cybercriminals and recuperate compromised credentials prior to their utilization or dissemination on the dark web.
The company’s inaugural offering, Baits, functions by establishing hyper-realistic decoy access portals, including VPNs and webmail interfaces, that closely mimic genuine company environments.
When a malicious actor attempts to access these portals, they inadvertently disclose the stolen credentials, enabling security teams to swiftly neutralize the threat.
MokN’s services currently safeguard over one million users across a spectrum of sectors, including finance, retail, and healthcare, catering to both large enterprises and mid-sized corporations.
In addition to its UK ambitions, the company is formulating strategies for global expansion, with plans for new offices in the United States already on the horizon.
CEO Gautier Bugeon, who co-founded MokN alongside Antoine Coudoux, previously served as a security operations center (SOC) manager at mining multinational Eramet.
“As someone who navigated the complexities of an SOC, I witnessed firsthand how compromised identities persist as a significant vulnerability,” Bugeon remarked. “MokN was created to transform that landscape.”
“Today, we collaborate with leading enterprises to establish a novel category—Active Identity Recovery—providing them with a proactive advantage against identity-centric assaults.”
Luna Schmid, a partner at GV, asserted, “Our investment in MokN stems from Gautier’s profound understanding as a former SOC manager, coupled with our strong belief in the team’s capacity to bridge a critical gap within the cybersecurity landscape.”
“Their flagship product, Baits, is a sophisticated stratagem that pivots the dynamics against attackers by deploying high-fidelity decoys to instigate immediate, automated recovery workflows,” Schmid elaborated.
“We are confident that their methodology represents a paradigm shift for enterprises aiming to thwart credential theft before it escalates.”
Akshat Goenka, a partner at Moonfire, expressed, “We chose to back MokN for its pioneering approach to a fundamental oversight in identity security.”
“Most solutions only react once credentials are misappropriated, whereas MokN intervenes proactively, recovering identities that might otherwise remain undetected,” he continued.
“What stands out is not merely the technical ingenuity but the swift manner in which Gautier and his team have facilitated real enterprise adoption and expansion.”
“We are convinced that MokN is constructing a new control layer within cybersecurity, and this funding round strategically positions them to establish that niche on a global scale, beginning with the US and UK markets.”
Source link: Businesscloud.co.uk.
