A Q&A with David Koretz, CEO of Mykonos Software. The San Francisco–based company was founded in 2009 and recently raised $4 million in Series A funding.
SUB: Please describe what Mykonos is, and the value proposition you bring to web security.
Koretz: Mykonos is the smartest way to secure websites and web applications against hackers, fraud and theft. Our Web Intrusion Prevention System uses deception to detect, track, profile and prevent hackers in real-time. Unlike legacy signature-based approaches, Mykonos is the first technology that inserts thousands of detection points to proactively identify attackers before they do damage—without any false positives.
SUB: What are your target markets?
Koretz: Financial services, ecommerce, SaaS, and the Federal Government.
SUB: Who do you consider to be your competition?
Koretz: We are the first web intrusion prevention system. We compete with other technologies that are concerned with protecting websites like web application firewalls.
SUB: What differentiates Mykonos from the competition?
Koretz: Mykonos uses deception to detect, track, profile and prevent hackers in real-time. Unlike legacy signature-based approaches, Mykonos is the first technology that inserts thousands of detection points to proactively identify attackers before they do damage—without any false positives.
SUB: When was the company founded?
Koretz: Mykonos Software was founded in 2009.
SUB: What was the inspiration behind the idea for Mykonos? Was there an “aha” moment, or was the idea more gradual in developing?
Koretz: The company’s genesis came from employees working at a SaaS company that was on the receiving end of hacks. In researching the market to protect the web application from hacks, there were two options available. First option was to scan the code and fix the vulnerabilities which is theoretically good but very difficult in practice. Second option was install a web application firewall which is a signature-based solution that can only defend against known attacks and is useless against unknown zero day attacks. Mykonos was built from the need to protect web applications and detect and prevent the behavior that leads to an attack.
SUB: What have the most significant obstacles been so far to building the company?
Koretz: Building a product and company with limited resources.
SUB: You recently raised $4 million in Series A funding. What are your plans for the funds?
Koretz: The new funds will be used to improve the product by expanding security and engineering capabilities and increasing investment in sales and marketing.
SUB: Do you plan to raise more outside funding in the near future?
Koretz: We will consider all options to strategically move the company forward.
SUB: What are your goals for Mykonos over the next year or so.
Koretz: 2012 will be focused on creating great customer experiences.
Mykonos – www.mykonossoftware.com
