After four years of prep, blockchain cybersecurity startup ALTR burst out of stealth mode today with $15 million from investors in tow.
A collection of private investors and firms from IT, financial services and cybersecurity sectors led the round, in which John Stafford III, the CEO of Chicago-based Ronin Capital, also participated.
Network-focused security isn't enough because it never really puts a dent in the sheer number of vulnerabilities.”
Led by CEO David Sikora and co-founder and CTO James Beecham, ALTR develops commercial blockchain solutions for secure data access and storage, deeming it “virtually impenetrable to attack,” according to the company. Its platform provides real-time, automated breach prevention and moves traditional key-accessed data onto a private blockchain, where the data is tokenized.
That means that a business’ sensitive data is replaced with non-sensitive identifiers, or symbols, that keep all of the data’s information in one place in a form that is unrecognizable to wandering eyes.
“We have a choice between change or breach,” said Sikora, in a statement. “Network-focused security isn't enough because it never really puts a dent in the sheer number of vulnerabilities. Rather than patching the existing attack surface, ALTR has found a way to significantly reduce it. With ALTR's full solution in place, the threat vectors for data move to nearly zero. Digital trust can finally be restored.”
The startup is based in Austin, and has lined up an all-star team of industry experts to help guide its next move.
Joining Sikora on the board is investor, software veteran and Texas native Mike Maples, Sr., who served as IBM’s director of software strategy before joining Microsoft in 1988 as executive VP of the Worldwide Products Group until 1995.
The board also includes Fred Burton, the former deputy chief of the counterterrorism division at the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service; Michael Hermus, former CTO of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; John Swainson, the former CEO of titan CA; and Scott Abel, co-founder of Spiceworks and Motive.
June’s funding will be used to increase ALTR’s enterprise market adoption and toward new solutions and products. According to its website, the company is rapidly expanding its team.
