Israeli startup illusive networks and Germany-based pharmaceutical and life sciences Merck KGaA announced that it will team up for the use of illusive's "Deception Everywhere" cybersecurity technology.
Merck chose illusive to support its existing security controls with a deception-based post-breach cybersecurity. The company aims to neutralize targeted attacks and Advanced Persistent Threats that could bypass the group's network.
"The idea is that if an advanced attacker makes it past these standardized controls, there is a next level of protection that really protects our crown jewel," Branden Newman, Merck's head of business technology security, said. This level is where illusive's technology is applied.
Illusive's networks' agentless Deception Everywhere technology could cover a company's entire network, from every endpoint, server, and network component. It works by sending information that deceives attackers.
When perpetrators act on the false information, illusive neutralizes the attack and triggers a detailed real-time breach, allowing security administrators to detect, track, and contain the attack in its early stages.
"With illusive's Deceptions Everywhere technology, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany has fortified its comprehensive security strategy by ensure that any threats that bypass its perimeter controls are quickly detected and stopped," Ofer Israeli, CEO of illusive networks, said.
The value of the deal has not been disclosed but Newman said that the fortified protection offered by illusive does not come at a high cost.
The Israeli startup has started penetrating companies outside of Israel and has gathered over $30 million from early investors including Microsoft Ventures, Cisco, Citi Ventures, and NEA. According to CNBC, illusive networks is the first company to come out of Israel's team8, the cybersecurity startup incubator formed by Israel's military Unit 8200.
Meanwhile, a 2015 study conducted by Ponemon Institute revealed that financial services industry and pharmaceutical companies suffer from the highest cost of data breaches. And Merck, with a reported over $15 billion of net sales in 2016 and millions worth of intellectual property, is no exemption.
Gartner research forecasts that by 2018, at least one in every 10 company will use deception technology and several reports estimate that the market will value between $1.33 billion and $1.7 billion by 2021.