Security News > 2000 > August > Catch of the Day: Until there's a cure ... (fwd)
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 23:18:31 MDT From: Redherring.com To: wk () c4i org Subject: Catch of the Day: Until there's a cure ... Until there's a cure ... A meeting with David Cowan of Bessemer Venture Partners opened my eyes to the strange economics of two Internet security businesses Bessemer's invested in: Counterpane and Qualys. My interest piqued, I visited both firms. Neither Counterpane nor Qualys actually fix security problems. Qualys is a subscription service that does benign, automated hacks of networks and then reports its findings to the customer company. It shows where vulnerabilities are. Counterpane is downstream from that: its team monitors (through a device it installs at customers' sites) a company's networks and sends alerts when an attack is under way, or, hopefully, when it notices the precursors of an attack. Obviously the two companies are complementary, and one could assume that at some point Bessemer may want them to be more than "partners." But what's interesting to me is which companies they won't partner with: both CEOs told me that getting into security software, for example, just doesn't work -- it would put their current audit and alert tools in the awkward position of potentially finding holes in their own software. Other larger companies (like ISS) do have fuller offerings, though. For a look into this market, see our special report, linked below. - Rafe Needleman, rafe-needleman () redherring com Editor, http://www.redherring.com FURTHER READING * Special report: Internet security http://www.redherring.com/insider/2000/0724/tech-fea-security-home.html * Can one security company do it all? Discuss! http://boards.redherring.com/WebX?13 () ^[email protected] * Company site: Bessemer Venture Partners http://www.bessemervp.com * Company site: Counterpane Internet Security http://www.counterpane.com * Company site: Qualys http://www.qualys.com * Company site: Internet Security Systems (ISS) http://www.iss.net * David Cowan comments on beauty http://www.redherring.com/industries/2000/0425/ind-beauty042500.html * Wall Street, VCs seek security shields after hack attacks http://www.redherring.com/insider/2000/0210/tech-hacks021000.html * Hackers go corporate http://www.redherring.com/mag/issue71/news-security.html * Home firewalls are in your future http://www.redherring.com/insider/2000/0201/tech-athome020100.html ISN is hosted by SecurityFocus.com --- To unsubscribe email LISTSERV () SecurityFocus com with a message body of "SIGNOFF ISN".