IoT Startup Producing 'First Ever' Airborne IoT Security Product Following $9M Funding Round

Internet-of-Things security startup Bastille has big plans in the works to use $9 million of capital funding it recently captured to create an enterprise-grade IoT security product using software and sensors to scan an organization's air space, giving visibility into every radio-frequency-emitting device.

Bastille touts itself as the first cybersecurity company to detect and mitigate threats from the IoT by using security sensors, software and airborne emission detection.

"There aren't any products like this out there," said Chris Rouland, founder and CEO of Bastille, in an interview with CRN. "There are many choices for network security, like Palo Alto [Networks], FireEye, Check Point, and most of the security for Wi-Fi is baked into the infrastructure; however, the IoT is composed of over 100 different wireless protocols across different frequencies that enterprises today have zero visibility into."

[Related: Ready For Everything: 12 New IoT Products Launched By Cisco]

"Our leg up is that we have a brand new type of technology where, as opposed to looking at computer networks, it looks at the entire air space in a company," said Rouland.

The Atlanta-based startup revealed Wednesday that it nabbed $9 million in a Series A funding round from investors including Bessember Venture Partners and cybersecurity entrepreneur Tom Noonan. The startup has racked up nearly $12 million in total funding since it was founded in April 2014.

Bastille has yet to launch a formal product, so it will use the funding to bring its product to market for enterprise-scale deployments. Currently in pilot testing, the product is expected to be generally available in early 2016.

"In all of our pilots we've found transmitters or devices or equipment that was unknown and misconfigured insecurely," said Rouland. "What we're doing is providing visibility and threat mitigation into all of the devices that may be in an enterprise."

Rouland said the product will allow enterprises to detect, localize and assess security risks by safely and privately scanning a corporation's air space to give visibility into every emitting device on-premise. Bastille will then charge a deployment fee based on the amount of sensors used as well as an annual subscription for its software.

"I see us going to the enterprise first, and then as the technology is adopted, going to the channel," said Rouland. "But the channel needs to have a product that has been deployed, and we're really inventing new technology here."

The product will be "very" complementary and easily integrated to be able to "plug right into the existing infrastructure," said Rouland.

Cisco is predicting 50 billion devices will be connected by 2020. Hewlett-Packard released a report last year that said 70 percent of IoT devices are vulnerable to attack.

"With the proliferation of IoT devices in offices, banks, stores, data centers, factories, hospitals, utilities and government facilities, the cyber epidemic has effectively mutated into an airborne pathogen," said David Cowan, of Bessemer Venture Partners, in a release. "Bastille has assembled a unique combination of world class RF and cyber researchers to develop the first general purpose IoT security platform."

Rouland is attending the Black Hat 2015 security conference underway in Las Vegas and said IoT security is the top concern.

"I'm amazed here at Black Hat -- IoT is the top concern, top of mind and the top thing being hacked here," said Rouland. "The gap is, nobody has an IoT security budget line item yet. … This a billion-dollar opportunity and we've got a significant lead."

PUBLISHED AUG. 5, 2015