Check Point Software Co-Founder Launches Simple Network Security In The Cloud
Shlomo Kramer, who co-founded Check Point Software alongside Gil Schwed and Marius Nacht in 1993, raised $20 million in a series A funding round for Cato Networks late last year, a startup venture aimed at redefining how enterprises secure their networks and mobile devices. His elevator pitch: “Network security is simple again.” Now Kramer is up and running in the cloud.
After leaving Check Point in 2003 — when it was a publicly-held market leading firewall provider — Kramer went on to become a successful technology investor. He backed and sat on the boards at high-flying cyber firms including Sumo Logic, Palo Alto Networks, Trusteer (acquired by IBM IBM -0.70%), and several others. His second act as founder was with Imperva, which went to market with the first web application firewall (WAF) and IPO-ed in 2011. Today Imperva is one of only a dozen or so pure-play cybersecurity companies with $1 billion plus market caps.
If third time’s the charm and Kramer is after something even bigger than Check Point and more groundbreaking than Imperva, then Cato Networks may be it. The company has launched its Network Security-as-a-Service (NSaaS) — a platform which moves the security perimeter for network and mobile devices into the cloud — to an audience of IT leaders who are struggling with complex legacy point security products.