CI Security Raises $9.6M in Series B

CI Security announced today it has raised an additional $9.6 million dollars to defend critical services in healthcare and the public sector from cyber threats.

The added investment allows CI Security to continue expanding its Critical Insight Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service. Customers with Critical Insight MDR can detect and respond to intrusions and threats quickly. Those customers know that CI Security's analysts are using purpose-built technology to watch for security events 24/7/365.

The Series B fundraising was led by Alan Frazier's East Seattle Partners, with $9.6 million raised. Including its Series A in 2018, CI Security has now raised over $16 million.

Defending Critical Sectors

CI Security is uniquely positioned for growth with its focus on helping customers minimize the impact from cybersecurity events.

"We're honored to continue our work defending hospitals, clinics, cities, ports, and school districts," said Mike Hamilton, President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of CI Security. "Our mission is to make sure the lights stay on, healthcare is available, the water supply is safe, and the continuity of commerce continues unabated during this time of unprecedented threat activity."

"Organizations spend $96 billion annually on security technologies but the headlines persist. There is no silver bullet technology solution that can eradicate the risk of a cyber attack," said Garrett Silver, CEO.

"Security is not a technology problem, it is a people problem. There is a material shortage of security talent, and organizations cannot recruit and retain enough people to manage the technology they already have. Our managed detection and response solution uses technology to enable Critical Insight analysts to extend our customers' teams. We take the operational burden of detection and response so our customers' few, precious resources can get back to their day job: moving forward on their organization's security maturity journey."

More People Who Detect and Respond

CI Security is quickly growing its expert staff inside the Critical Insight Security Operations Centers. Each customer has a CI Success Engineer, a dedicated security advocate with a deep understanding of the customer's specific needs and critical assets. That CI Success Engineer serves as the central communication point for customers while CI Security Analysts leverage best-in-class technology to investigate threats around-the-clock. Those analysts work in two security operations centers in geographically diverse areas, allowing for continuity of operations in case of natural disaster.

CI Security sources analysts from the military, technical colleges, and universities, especially those involved in the PISCES program. CI Security's Mike Hamilton is a founder of PISCES, a program which partners with multiple universities and allows CI Security to provide security monitoring for down-market local governments at no charge. "The students get to learn infrastructure protection and job skills. Then we hire the best and brightest," said Hamilton. The combination of the PISCES program and CI Security continuous training helps the company avoid the turnover and recruiting issues faced by so many organizations that seek security talent.

"With strong retention of our security analysts, we take care of the people problem in information security. Customers can rest easy knowing that our people have their back 24/7/365, and our ability to maintain analyst capacity stays ahead of customer demand," said Hamilton.

More Detection and Response Capabilities

CI Security is adding significantly to its detection and response capabilities. Critical Insight MDR monitors digital assets where customers have them: on premises, AWS or Azure cloud, and Microsoft O365. Critical Insight MDR is designed to spot attacks on IoT devices including connected medical devices, as well as defend operational technologies (OT) in water, energy, manufacturing, and transportation sectors in a regulatory compliant fashion.

Keeping the MDR Promise

The added investment shows MDR is fulfilling promises that Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) couldn't keep: to perform deep investigations into threats, eliminate alert fatigue, and partner with customers when responding to incidents.

"Authentic MDR starts with the acknowledgement that great detection and response comes from awesome analysts amplified by great technology," said Silver. "Our purpose-built technology with powerful data ingest means CI Security Analysts conduct deep investigations to remove false positives and catch events that SIEMs and MSSPs miss. Organizations have critical systems that keep people alive and improve quality of life. We believe those people deserve to have authentic MDR watching out for them."

About CI Security:

CI Security provides Managed Detection and Response as well as professional services. CI Security Headquarters is in Seattle, WA. It has two Security Operations Centers, one in Bremerton, WA and one in Ellensburg, WA, as well as offices across the United States. For more information, visit: https://ci.security.

About East Seattle Partners:

East Seattle Partners ("ESP") is the investment management entity responsible for allocating and investing the personal capital of Alan Frazier outside of his activities at Frazier Healthcare Partners. ESP makes direct investments in early stage and mature middle market companies, as well as multi-family and commercial real estate properties. With a focus on the Pacific Northwest, the firm takes an active value-add approach, looking to partner with world-class entrepreneurs, management teams, and business partners to create long term value in its venture, private equity and other portfolios.