{"id":54201,"date":"2023-10-19T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.networkworld.com\/article\/3709049\/startup-airgap-networks-brings-telco-technologies-to-the-lan.html#tk.rss_security"},"modified":"2023-10-19T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T09:00:00","slug":"security-startup-airgap-networks-brings-telco-technologies-to-the-lan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/security-startup-airgap-networks-brings-telco-technologies-to-the-lan\/","title":{"rendered":"Security startup Airgap Networks brings telco technologies to the LAN"},"content":{"rendered":"
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AI-generating malware, deep fake identity spoofing, and state-sponsored ransomware are just a few of the latest methods that attackers are using to bypass traditional cybersecurity tools. Ritesh Agrawal, CEO of cybersecurity startup Airgap Networks, noticed that many of the attacks that compromise enterprise networks fail to penetrate telco and service provider networks.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though they\u2019re deploying the same routers, switches, and firewalls, there\u2019s something fundamentally different about telco networks that shields them from many threats to enterprise LANs,\u201d Argawal said. Agrawal has 20 years of experience with cybersecurity, enterprise networking, and cloud computing, most of that time spent with Juniper Networks focusing on telco and large enterprise clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned that the fundamental difference in service provider, and especially telco subscriber, networks is that one user does not affect other users because they are in a zero-trust environment. I can text you or Zoom with you, but my phone cannot talk to your phone on a network level,\u201d Argawal noted.<\/p>\n

His insights about the different security profile of telco versus enterprise networks led Argawal and several of his Juniper colleagues to found Airgap Networks in 2019. Since their launch, the startup has raised seed and Series A funding, developed a \u201cransomware kill switch,\u201d and attracted several on-the-record customers, including Dropbox and Skyline Enterprises.<\/p>\n

Airgap recently received more than $4 million in follow-on funding to its Series A round, which brings its total funding to $23 million. Storm Ventures is the lead investor. Other investors include Cervin, Engineering Capital, Sorenson Ventures, and individual investors.<\/p>\n

Airgap’s kill switch is designed to stop ransomware with a single click<\/h2>\n

According to Argawal, nothing illustrates the divide between enterprise and telco networks like ransomware. Whereas telco networks are segmented in a way that makes it difficult for malware to spread from device to device, enterprises tend to be caught flat-footed when ransomware hits, with technicians running around data centers pulling cables to try to isolate infected machines. Meanwhile, as enterprises continue to address the problem with outdated tools and manual methods, attackers are getting more sophisticated, leveraging AI and machine learning, which pushes the cost of ransomware attacks higher.<\/p>\n