Cybersecurity firm Netcraft has received a substantial investment of $100 million from Spectrum Equity Management, a growth-investment firm, and has appointed Ryan Woodley as its new CEO. The company aims to expand its operations in the United States.
Netcraft analyzes over 5 million threat reports and suspicious web addresses daily, utilizing automation to gather information on suspected attacks and identify individuals involved in its infrastructure. This enables them to initiate takedown procedures against web hosts and domain registrars.
Ryan Woodley has taken on the role of CEO since April, bringing his senior executive experience from security company DigiCert and Progressive Leasing. Woodley replaces Mike Prettejohn, the company’s founder, who has joined Netcraft’s board.
Established in 1994, Netcraft operates in 100 countries and serves 10 of the 20 largest banks in Europe. Woodley emphasizes that the company has relied largely on word-of-mouth from satisfied customers for growth. With the investment from Spectrum Equity, Netcraft will now be able to build dedicated sales and marketing teams for the first time while further developing its technology.
Parag Khandelwal, Managing Director of Spectrum Equity, notes the rarity of cyber companies prioritizing product engineering. Spectrum Equity has previously invested in cybercrime-related firms, such as World-Check and Verafin.
Netcraft is actively exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance companies’ defense against hackers. Cybercriminals are increasingly leveraging AI in sophisticated scams, such as pig butchering, where victims are lured into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes.
Additionally, generative AI platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT are assisting criminals in areas such as phishing by eliminating grammar and style mistakes that could otherwise arouse suspicion. Netcraft aims to utilize AI tools to analyze and engage with attackers, obtaining valuable information for takedowns, such as bitcoin wallet addresses and identifying data.
AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data, including communication logs and phishing emails, at high speeds is crucial as manual analysis would be infeasible. Netcraft plans to expand its team by approximately 30% and focus on growing its business in the United States, which currently contributes 25% of its revenue.
Contact James Rundle at [email protected]
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