Area 1 Security

Area 1 Security
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryInformation security
Founded2013; 12 years ago (2013)
Founders
  • Oren Falkowitz
  • Phil Syme
  • Blake Darché
HeadquartersRedwood City, California, U.S.
ProductsArea 1 Horizon
ParentCloudflare Edit this on Wikidata
Websitewww.area1security.com

Area 1 Security, Inc. was an American cybersecurity company based in Redwood City, California[1] which merged into Cloudflare in February 2022.[2]

History

Area 1 was incorporated in 2013 by Oren Falkowitz, Blake Darché, and Phil Syme, previously employees of the U.S. National Security Agency.[3] The company received venture capital financing led by Kleiner Perkins.[4]

In December 2018, Area 1 identified a Chinese government cyber campaign targeting more than 100 intergovernmental organizations, ministries of foreign affairs, ministries of finance, trade unions, and think tanks, which included breach of the European Union diplomatic communications network.[5]

In 2019, the Federal Election Commission ruled in AO 2019-12 that Area 1 could "offer its services to federal candidates and political committees at the same 'low or no cost' tier that it offers to all qualified customers without making an impermissible in-kind contribution".[6]

In January 2020, Area 1 revealed a Russian government phishing campaign targeting Burisma Holdings and its subsidiaries.[7]

In February 2022, Cloudflare announced plan to acquire Area 1 for $162 million in a cash and stock deal.[8]

Service

Area 1 Horizon is a cloud-based service intended to mitigate phishing, ransomware, malware, watering holes, malvertising, and other social engineering threats, across email, web, and network, at the edge or in the cloud.[9] The service is based on "a network of sensors on web servers around the globe, many known to be used by state-sponsored hackers."[10]

References

  1. ^ Nakashima, Ellen (January 13, 2020). "Russian spies hacked Ukrainian gas company at heart of Trump impeachment trial, company says". The Washington Post.
  2. ^ Dillet, Romain (February 24, 2022). "Cloudflare to acquire Area 1 Security, a startup that blocks phishing emails". TechCrunch.
  3. ^ Perlroth, Nicole (10/12/2016) “A Computer Security Start-Up Turns the Tables on Hackers” The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  4. ^ Hackett, Robert (10/14/2015) “Area 1 Security raises $15 million from Icon Ventures and Kleiner Perkins” Fortune. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  5. ^ Sanger, David (12/18/2018) "Hacked European Cables Reveal a World of Anxiety About Trump, Russia and Iran" The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  6. ^ Federal Elections Commission (07/15/2019) “AO 2019-12: Area 1 Security may offer committees cybersecurity services at little or no cost” The Federal Elections Commission. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  7. ^ Perlroth, Nicole (1/13/2020) "Russians Hacked Ukrainian Gas Company at Center of Impeachment" The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
  8. ^ Daniella Vallurupalli (February 23, 2022). "Cloudflare to Acquire Area 1 Security to Expand Its Zero Trust Platform". Cloudflare. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  9. ^ Musthaler, Linda (5/30/2017) “Area 1 Security stops phishing campaigns before they become attacks” NETWORKWORLD from IDG. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  10. ^ Perlroth, Nicole; Rosenberg, Matthew (2020-01-13). "Russians Hacked Ukrainian Gas Company at Center of Impeachment". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-14.