Israeli cyber-security firm Claroty exits 'stealth mode,' raises $32 million

[September 13, 2016]  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli cyber security start-up Claroty said on Tuesday it raised $32 million in funding and is exiting so-called stealth mode after operating in secret for the past two years.

Claroty's financial backers include Bessemer Venture Partners, Innovation Endeavors - run by Google chairman Eric Schmidt - Marker, ICV, Red Dot Capital Partners and Mitsui & Co.

The company was co-founded in 2014 by Team 8, which was founded by Nadav Zafrir, a former head of the Israeli military's intelligence unit 8200. It focuses on operational technology network protection in securing critical infrastructure at industrial control systems such as power grids, steel mills and oil refineries.

"The reason these critical systems are increasingly exposed to cyber threats is twofold: Industrial and IT networks are becoming considerably more interconnected in order to achieve important business goals, but industrial control systems were originally designed with safety and resilience, not cyber-security, as primary objectives," said Amir Zilberstein, Claroty's CEO.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer)

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