Network breaches continue to be the bane of companies in all industries. According to Statista, there were 3,205 data breaches in 2023, affecting 353 million people, this compares to 1,108 breaches in 2020.
Attivo Networks turns the table on hackers by deceiving them into believing they are attacking actual data assets, when in fact they are targeting decoys. Attack analysis, forensics, and third-party integrations accelerate incident response.
A paradigm shift has occurred in information security, with the narrative shifting from if a breach will happen to when it will happen. The use of additional defense solutions can be used to validate the effectiveness of security defenses and accelerate the identification of BOTs and advanced persistent threats (APTs) inside a network.
Typically, security networks and data centers employ a perimeter defense with the goal of preventing any and all hackers from getting in. However, that is a fruitless endeavor with the sheer number and increasing sophistication of breaches reported every year.
As a result of the level of cybercrime today, the addition of post infection detection is a necessary component to any security strategy, helping uncover attackers whose breaches can go unnoticed for seven to eight months. Breach detection systems that focus on post infection detection complement existing firewalls, secure Web gateways and other solutions by looking for attackers already in the network.
The use of active deception is a highly effective technique to deal with these cyberattacks, which lures hackers that manage to get through traditional security infrastructures by using a trap. This very efficient and cost-effective addition of a new layer of security complements existing infrastructure by accelerating breach discovery and providing a new line of defense, making it difficult for attackers to reach or compromise valuable assets.
When UPRAISE started work with Attivo, deception was a little known or understood category within cybersecurity. As a result, it was very hard to generate interest from media, analysts, conference managers and other key influencers.
Gartner names deception a “Top 10 Technology to Watch”
Articles
Speaking Engagements
Awards Earned in one Quarter
Articles published for C round funding announcement
Beginning with Introductions
The goal of our engagement with Attivo was to simultaneously elevate awareness for deception technology while also dramatically increasing the company’s public profile to successfully compete with two categories of cybersecurity companies: first, those that focused exclusively on deception, such as Illusive Networks and TrapX. The second category of companies was large, multi-function cybersecurity companies that offered deception technology, but also offered intrusion detection, endpoint security and other cybersecurity capabilities.
Our strategy included rolling out a series of aggressive campaigns including frequent press releases, contributed articles, ongoing rapid response to breaches and news, industry analyst relations and social media. We maintained relationships with approximately 30 analysts at Gartner alone. We focused on staying ahead of the news and continuously expanding the universe of influencers with whom we build relationships.
In the first phase, our goal consisted of securing introductory briefings with targeted media and analysts to introduce them to Attivo and the concept of deception. It began slowly as many did not believe deception was a valid approach. Over time, we built a base of media and analysts who did buy into deception and worked to convert them from believers into evangelists by frequently providing new data, case histories, use cases and demos that highlighted the efficacy of deception. At the same time, we continuously worked to expand the base of media and analyst believers.
In the next phase, we continued building the media and analyst base, while expanding the program to secure speaking opportunities at major cybersecurity conferences, such as Black Hat, as well as niche conferences, such as SANS Institute regional events. We expanded on this with a contributed article program with the goal of ensuring we made the case for deception and Attivo Networks in our own words.
With a steady stream of media coverage and positive analyst reports in place, we then initiated an awards campaign for Attivo, submitting the company for a wide range of “companies to watch,” “best new products,” “best emerging technology” and similar awards.
Momentum Leads to Acceptance
Over four years, Attivo’s market presence continuously increased as our program steadily earned more media coverage, an increased number of analyst reports and an ongoing stream of speaking engagements and awards wins. At the same time, deception technology evolved from a cybersecurity backwater to one of the fastest growing cybersecurity sectors.
In one quarter alone, Attivo earned 76 articles, seven speaking engagements and five awards. One example of results is media coverage earned for funding announcements. Prior to working with us. Attivo earned an anemic three articles announcing its A round of funding. Four years later, coverage of its C round landed 35 articles. At roughly the same time, Gartner also named deception a “Top 10 Technology to Watch.”
After four years of success, Attivo Networks was purchased by SentinelOne, whose cybersecurity solution encompasses AI-powered prevention, detection, response and hunting across endpoints, containers, cloud workloads, and IoT devices in a single autonomous platform.
Former Chief Marketing Officer, Attivo Networks / SentinelOne
