Akamai Acquires Cyberfend for Bot Detection

Akamai Acquires Cyberfend for Bot Detection

screen-shot-2016-12-19-at-1-32-39-pm

Web and mobile security company Akamai added to its expertise today after acquiring Cyberfend, a bot detection company. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Massachusetts-based Akamai, which went public on NASDAQ in 1999, aims to help banks and businesses protect their websites, mobile apps, and cloud environments. Akamai launched Bot Manager earlier this year to help thwart automated bots, which use stolen credentials to log into legitimate ecommerce and financial services websites.

Launched in 2014, California-based Cyberfend debuted BotFender, a cyber attack automation detection service, at FinovateSpring 2016. BotFender combines human cognitive science with machine learning algorithms to create a website security layer that is invisible to the end user and detects attacks in real time. Cyberfend is backed by Y-Combinator and protects 1 billion transactions every month.

Stuart Scholly, senior vice president and general manager of Web Security at Akamai, said, “The addition of Cyberfend’s technology is intended to give our customers a better way to spot and stop credential abuse on their sites—benefiting both the online business and its users.”

Cyberfend is Akamai’s third acquisition this year—after acquiring Concord Systems in September and Soha Systems in October—and its 16th acquisition since launching in 1998. As we reported earlier this year, Akamai is bolstering its security capabilities to become more appealing to potential, large acquirers, such as Google or Microsoft.

Akamai most recently presented at FinovateEurope 2015 in London where it debuted Client Reputation Service, designed to help FIs forecast security issues and protect against DDoS attacks, web attackers, screen scrapers, and scanning tools. The company is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Tom Leighton is CEO.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Akamai Acquires Cyberfend for Bot Detection”

Around the web

  • Fiserv Portico to power core account processing and enhanced functionality for commercial lending for Green Country Federal Credit Union.
  • Forbes names Backbase one of 10 European growth businesses to watch in 2017.
  • i-exceed recognized as Samsung’s 2016 Mobile B2B: ISV Partner of the Year.
  • TemenosMarketPlace receives the Banking Technology Readers’ Choice Award for “Best emerging/innovative technology product/service” at the Annual Banking Technology Awards.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Fintech Favorites

Featured

  • U.K.-based challenger bank Atom opens to the public. The bank’s iPhone and iPad app is built on the Unity gaming platform and is the only way to access the mobile-only bank. Atom has a customer service team equipped with AI and machine learning, and has bolstered its security using voice and face biometric login. Atom Bank is the first of a handful of U.K. challenger banks set to launch this year, including Mondo, Starling Bank, and Tandem. Atom is headquartered in Durham and is already valued at almost $190 million. Check out Business Insider’s coverage.

Deals

  • Akamai (FEU 15) acquires Soha Systems, which offers secure access as a service for enterprises. This matches well with Akamai’s aim to offer cloud-based services to enterprises, and places it in a good position for a potential acquisition. See our coverage.
  • Jack Henry & Associates (FF 15) collaborates with Visa (FDSV 14) to accelerate P2P payments to debit cards. This may help banks compete with other services that have sped up settlement times, such as Zelle (formerly clearXchange) and Venmo (FS 13). See the press release.

Milestones

  • IBM (FF 16) announced a $200 million investment for a new global headquarters for its Watson IoT business. The headquarters will be located in Munich and is one of IBM’s largest-ever investments in Europe. This move is part of a $3 billion initiative to bring Watson’s computing expertise into the world of IoT. See IBM at FinDEVr Silicon Valley, 18/19 Oct 2016. See VentureBeat’s coverage here.
  • Banking Technology reported that Misys (FEU 15) is preparing to issue an IPO in Nov 2016 with a $6.9 billion float. Advisory firm Moelis will be overseeing the move. Misys was delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2012 when it merged with Turaz. Misys CEO Nadeem Sayed says going public is a “logical step in our evolution.” See Banking Technology’s coverage.
  • Aire (FEU 15) raised $2 million. Along with the funding announcement, the alternative credit-scoring platform announced it is now authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the U.K.’s financial regulator. This places it on a more level playing field to compete with the big three credit bureaus. See our coverage.

Tech

  • Thomson Reuters (FF 12) unveils blockchain-dev platform, BlockOne ID. Built for Ethereum, BlockOne ID is an experimental framework in which app owners can manage access to their blockchain contracts in a controlled environment. See Banking Tech’s coverage.

Akamai Acquires Soha Systems

Akamai Acquires Soha Systems

screen-shot-2016-10-04-at-3-49-06-pm

With security emerging as one of the largest themes of our upcoming FinDEVr developers conference, it’s no surprise to see movement in that segment of the industry. Yesterday, cloud services provider Akamai acquired security company Soha Systems.

While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Akamai describes the purchase price as “immaterial” for the company. California-based Soha, which offers secure access-as-a-service for enterprises, has raised almost $10 million since it was founded in 2013. Under the acquisition, Akamai will use Soha’s services to extend its portfolio of Cloud Networking Solutions and to “simplify and improve remote and mobile access to enterprise resources, while at the same time minimize the exposed attack surface.” In a press release, Robert Blumofe, EVP, Platform, and GM, Enterprise and Carrier Division, said, “By adding Soha’s secure access technology to our cloud networking solutions, we believe we are well positioned to help our customers take full advantage of the key trends, cloud and mobile, driving enterprise computing.”

The deal comes less than a week after the company’s announcement of its acquisition of Concord Systems, an IoT company. In fact, Akamai has been on an acquisition spree of security companies; recent deals include Bloxx in November 2015 and Prolexic in 2013. According to TechCrunch, Akamai is bolstering its security to become more appealing to potential, large acquirers, such as Google or Microsoft.

Akamai presented at FinovateEurope 2015 in London where it debuted its Client Reputation Service, designed to help FIs forecast security issues and protect against DDoS attacks, web attackers, screen scrapers, and scanning tools. The company most recently released the Akamai Bot Manager to mitigate screen scraping, automated clicks, and illegitimate transactional activity.

Akamai was founded in 1998 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Tom Leighton is CEO.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Check out this week’s FinDEVr APIntelligence.
  • Payoneer Closes $180 Million Series E Round
  • Finovate Alums Earn Spots in FinTech Forward 20 “Companies to Watch”

Around the web

  • IBM announces $200 million investment in its Watson IoT business in Munich. See IBM at FinDEVr Silicon Valley, October 18 & 19.
  • Novum Bank chooses Netverify from Jumio to speed client onboarding. Be sure to check out our recent interview with Jumio CEO Stephen Stuut.
  • Thomson Reuters launches ONESOURCE InDirect Tax Development Partner Program.
  • Top Image Systems wins $450,000 deal with U.S. government to deploy eFLOW.
  • BankNXT interviews Dwolla’s Jordan Lampe about real-time ACH.
  • PaySimple introduces an online store built specifically for service providers.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “StreetShares Raises $4.5 Million in Series A Led by Fenway Summer Ventures”
  • “CEO Interview: Aire.io’s Aneesh Varma”

On FinDEVr.com

  • “Financial Information Services Provider Markit Merges with IHS”

Around the web

  • USAA to enable Coinbase accounts alongside USAA accounts and services in late March; mobile app upgrade.
  • Temenos and TransUnion forge strategic partnership to bring CreditVision recovery model to credit unions and financial institutions.
  • Let’s Talk Payments lists Akamai Technologies, SnoopWall, and Entrust in its roundup of the hottest mobile security companies.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

 

Akamai’s New Bot Manager Offers Insight into Bot Activity

Akamai’s New Bot Manager Offers Insight into Bot Activity

AkamaiHomepage

Akamai, a security company that helps businesses secure and deliver online content and applications, introduced a new offering today, the Akamai Bot Manager.

The new product comes in response to a recent finding that more than 60% of a company’s web traffic may be generated by bots.

BotMGR

Bot activity consists of anything from screen scraping, to automated clicks, to illegitimate transactional activity. While bot activity is considered part of the cost of doing business, it is difficult for companies to determine exactly what that cost is. Bot Manager educates companies about what types of bot traffic are frequenting their site, and offers remediation to help businesses make decisions and take action.

As Stuart Scholly, SVP & GM of Akamai’s Cloud Security Solutions explains, “We’re giving our customers the power and flexibility to put a true bot management strategy in place that best fits their business goals and objectives.”

Bot Manager will be commercially available at the end of this month.

At FinovateEurope 2015, the company launched its Client Reputation service designed to help FIs forecast security issues and protect against DDoS attacks, web attackers, screen scrapers, and scanning tools.

Akamai was founded in 1998 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Tom Leighton is CEO.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

Around the web

  • Yodlee’s startup incubator contributes to “Startup Fever.”
  • Revolut, Sedicii, SizeUp, & Token named Innotribe Startup finalists.
  • TIS signs deal to process school exams in Chile.
  • Trustly appoints Jonas Palmquist as chief financial officer.
  • FT.com features PsychSignal and Market Prophit in a discussion on market signals and social media.
  • Dwolla launches its white-label service to make it easier for FIs to use its FiSync transfer platform.
  • Segmint launches new marketing solution, Segmint Reach.
  • RetailWeek features TradeShift as startup of the week.
  • Lending Club celebrates surpassing $11 billion in loans.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Finovate Debuts: Whodini Takes KYC to the Bluetooth Level”
  • “DriveWealth Hires Harry Temkin as New Chief Information Officer”

Around the web

  • PYMNTS chats with Morgan Beard, strategic marketing director at TSYS about how “Bring Your Own Persona” applies to banking.
  • Akamai Technologies partners with CU Cloud, China Unicom’s cloud business, to offer web performance, media delivery, and cloud security services.
  • TransferWise surpasses £500 million transferred worldwide every month, representing 2% of the U.K.’s global remittance market.
  • Money.com’s column on the secrets of crowdfunding success highlights Realty Mogul.
  • Financial Times profiles European payments innovator, Klarna.
  • GAINSCO Auto Insurance to provide agents with e-signature technology from Silanis Technology.
  • Wealth Management looks at the “new breed” of fintech companies specializing in alternative investments such as HedgeCoVest and Hedgeable.
  • Benzinga’s Jim Probasco interviews Sang Lee, CEO and co-founder of DarcMatter.
  • Edenred Mexico to deploy real-time transaction-monitoring and customer-analytics technology from INETCO Systems.
  • Market Prophit and TickerTags are featured in a Waters Technology column on the changing nature of market data.
  • HuffPo Business interviews TrueAccord COO Sofya Pogreb as part of its series on women in business.
  • Coin Telegraph lists Bitbond, Wealthfront, and TrueAccord in its roundup of “rising fintech startups.”
  • Tech.co looks at how Trulioo defends startups against credit card fraud.
  • How Motif CEO Hardeep Walia and Personal Capital CEO Bill Harris feel about the term “robo-advisor”.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Akamai Launches Client Reputation to Help FIs Make Better Security Decisions

Akamai_logo_high-res.jpgThis post is part of our live coverage of FinovateEurope 2015.

Akamai is ready to demonstrate the new Client Reputation feature of its Kona Site Defender technology.

The Akamai Client Reputation service is designed to help financial services institutions improve their security decisions when the threat would otherwise be unclear. The service provides the ability to forecast intent and protect applications against Distributed Denial of Service and application layer attacks. It does this by identifying and sharing with customers the likelihood that particular IP addresses fall into one of four “malicious” categories: web attackers, Denial of Service attackers, web scrapers, and scanning tools.

Presenters: Ory Segal, director, threat research, and Nick Coleman, web security specialist
 
Akamai_8014.JPG
Akamai_8022.JPG
Product launch: February 2015
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business
HQ: Cambridge, MA
Metrics: Revenue $1.58 billion in 2013; 5,000+ employees. Customers include 1 out of every 3 Global 500 companies; 8 of the top-10 U.S. online brokers; 8 of the top U.S. asset-management firms; and 10 of the top-10 P&C insurance carriers. Akamai delivers 15% to 30% of all Web traffic globally.
Website: akamai.com
Twitter: @AkamaiUK

FinovateEurope 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 7

FE2015Banner.jpg

FinovateEurope is less than a week away, and we’ve already surpassed last year’s record-breaking attendance. Soon, we’ll be sitting inOld Billingsgate Market Hall in London, enjoying tea while enjoying the first day of live demos at FinovateEurope.

Want to be a part of the largest FinovateEurope crowd ever? Get your ticket soon before it’s sold out.

FEUIMG4.jpg

In this final post of our Sneak Peek series, we’re featuring Aire, Akamai Technologies, LifePay, MoneyHub, mydesq, Onlinepay.comSedicii, and Taulia. You can see all the posts here:


AireLogo.jpg

Aire is an alternate credit score for people. Our mission is to help thin-file customers who qualify for essential financial products via this new score.

Features

    • Rescore credit rejections to lend to 15%+ more customers
    • Improve overall cost of acquisition
    • Minimal change to existing risk profile

Why it’s great
Aire can help turn a No to a Yes.

AirePresenter1.jpg

Presenters

Aneesh Varma, Co-founder
Varma is a serial entrepreneur with a prior startup in enterprise retail tech, he started off in consumer finance at JPMorgan. He’s an engineer with a background in predictive algorithms quantitative finance.
LinkedIn

 

AirePresenter2.jpg

Jon Bundy, Co-founder
With 14 years across financial technology, Bundy has been building risk and data products with an additional expertise in fraud detection and AML as well. He was previously at RBS, Searchspace and Symbian.
LinkedIn

 


AkamaiLogo215.jpg

Akamai Technologies is a leading provider of cloud security services, helping banks provide secure, high-performing user experiences on any device, anywhere.

Features

    • Focus on the source of the request
    • Determine the extent to which that source has sent malicious requests in the past
    • Make predictions regarding how much that source can be trusted in the future

Why it’s great
The Akamai Client Reputation service provides financial institutions the ability to forecast intent and protect applications against web attacks.

Presenters

Ory Segal, Director of Threat Research
LinkedIn

AkamaiPresenter2.jpg

Nick Coleman (pictured), Web Security Specialist

 

 


LifePayLogo2015.jpg

LifePay is an mPOS EMV chip-and-pin solution, allowing SMEs to accept payments by plastic cards via smartphones, and get LifePay Stand and overall sales analytics.

Features

    • LifePay-mPOS chip & pin is a start-point of LifePay ecosystem
    • LifePay offers the LifePay Stand solution with a portable printer and cashbox as a next-gen cash register.
    • Merchant’s portal

Why it’s great
LifePay – inspiring Asia


MoneyHubLogo.jpg

MoneyHub puts the user at the center of their financial universe and helps them visualize their future. MoneyHub’s Ecosystem will empower people to connect, share data and collaborate with their financial advisers and institutions like never before.

Why it’s great
Your customers are already using MoneyHub, why not see how you can use it with them?

MoneyHubPresenter1.jpg

Presenters

Toby Hughes, CEO MoneyHub
Hughes, Founder and CEO of MoneyHub, is an entrepreneur with more than 10 years of digital marketing and technological innovation experience in financial services.
LinkedIn

 

MoneyHubPresenter2.jpg

Dave Tonge, CTO
Tonge, CTO at MoneyHub, has a strong technical skill-set and entrepreneurial instincts. Dave specializes in innovative business strategy and agile software architecture.
LinkedIn

 


mydesqLogo.jpg

mydesq is an iPad-based workbench which combines products, clients, accounts and analytics providing wealth managers the information advantage to work smarter.

Features

    • Work from anywhere, anytime
    • Simplify work
    • Increase Sales & Service

Why it’s great
It revolutionizes and simplifies the way wealth managers work.

Presenter

Milan Vora, CEO & Founder
LinkedIn


OnlinepayLogo2.jpg

onlinepay.com is a mobile wallet for students. Share, buy and top up!

Features

    • Share your money with your friends
    • Make purchases directly from your mobile phone
    • Top up your gaming accounts  

Why it’s great
onlinepay.com is a mobile wallet, designed for fun and sharing money, convenient mobile shopping and top up of gaming and trading accounts.

Onlinepaypresenter1.jpg

Presenters

Vladimir Kovalevskiy, Director
Kovalevskiy has in-depth experience in the payment and e-commerce fields in Russia and abroad, including projects related to mobile payments.
LinkedIn

 

OnlinepayPresenter2.jpg

Anfisa Chernaya, Marketing Manager
Chernaya is working in marketing field for last 5 years.
LinkedIn

 


SediciiLogo.jpg

Sedicii eliminates the exposure (storage and transmission) of private data required to authenticate.

Features

    • Sedicii Payments Card Authentication
    • Sedicii Mobile Authentication
    • Sedicii Contact Centre Authentication

Why it’s great
It is innovative technology for more secure authentication and identity verification.

SediciiPresenter1.jpg

Presenters

Rob Leslie, CEO
Leslie’s track record includes part of the original management team to establish/grow Dell Japan to $300M TO in 4 years. Leslie also co-founded PTS Japan, sold in 2000, having achieved $33M valuation in 5 years.
LinkedIn

 

SediciiPresenter2.jpg

Richard Coady, Commercial Director
Coady has held senior positions with BT, WBT Systems, Prometric. He will work towards the implementation of the International Sales strategy for the Sedicii portfolio of authentication applications.
LinkedIn

 


TauliaLogo.jpg

Taulia transforms supply chains, enabling organizations to create a healthy relationship between suppliers and buyers.

Features

    • Sets up a SaaS network between a buyer and all its suppliers with eInvoicing
    • Uses network to offer all suppliers an opportunity to get paid early using third-party finance
    • Preserves buyer capital

Why it’s great
Taulia solves the buyer/supplier payment dilemma.

TauliaPresenter1.jpg

Presenters

Matthew Stammers, European Marketing Director
Member of the European management team with responsibility for launching Taulia in Europe. Previously worked for Bottomline Technologies and Capita and holds a Henley MBA.
LinkedIn

TauliaPresenter2.jpg

Christophe Juvanon, European Solutions Consulting Director
Key member of Taulia’s European team responsible for understanding customer’s requirements and solution fit. Previously employed by OpenText and DHL. Holds a post-grad degree from Napier University.
LinkedIn


 

That concludes our Sneak Peek series. You can catch all 70+ companies as they demo live at FinovateEurope on February 10 and 11. Pick up your ticket here.

Questions? Check out our FAQ.

Finovate Alumni News– July 30, 2013

  • FinovateLOGO.jpgOpenCoin is among the virtual currency innovators looking to form a self-regulatory body for the industry.
  • MasterPass from MasterCard launches in the United Kingdom.
  • Bank Innovation takes a look at FIS Global’s recent remarks on the company’s technology deal with Sainsbury.
  • Yahoo Finance looks at rewards earned using Dynamics ePlate credit card.
  • StreetFight features reasons to opt in for card-linked loyalty programs from Cartera Commerce, Cardlytics, edo Interactive and Swipely.
  • Netbanker features BillGuard, Manilla, and Credit Karma as value-added apps driving mobile adoption.
  • eToro adds price alerts to eToro Trader app.
  • Bright Ideas features Noreen Hafez, senior product marketing manager at Akamai.
  • Kasasa holds sweepstakes, films big-bank breakup video, featuring CEO Gabe Krajicek.
  • Betterment joins fellow Finovate alumni FutureAdvisor and LearnVest in this NYT column on bringing “financial planning to the masses.”
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.