Cylus raises $30 million
Rail cybersecurity startup Cylus has raised $30 million in a Series B round led by Ibex Investors and joined by Vertex Growth Fund, Strides International Business, Magma Venture Partners, Vertex Ventures Israel, Israeli serial entrepreneur Zohar Zisapel, and Glenrock Israel. This latest round brings the company’s total funding to over $57 million. In addition, in line with Cylus’ expansion strategy in the US, William Heinrich, former CISO of Amtrak and BNSF Railway, and Mark Grant, former CISO of CSX Transportation, will join the company’s advisory board.
Founded in 2017, Cylus offers continuous monitoring and real-time protection for the global railway industry. The solution provides “360-degree protection for all rail systems,” regardless of size and geography, enabling real-time threat detection, advanced forensics and mitigation, simplified security operations and more.
In 2019, Deutsche-Verkehrs-Assekuranz-Vermittlungs-GmbH, the insurance broker for rail in Germany, created an insurance policy to address the growing threat of cybersecurity attacks on rail companies. Through DVA , policyholders will be eligible for discounts from insurance provider Hiscox, based on their rail cyber index score, co-created with Cylus.
“We have seen a massive wave of digitization in the railway industry over the last few years. Despite this being a very positive trend, it has also entailed an exponential expansion of the surface area hackers can access to penetrate railway networks – which could lead to serious outcomes in one of the most core modes of transportation and critical infrastructure. Cylus changes all of that by providing the most advanced and holistic cybersecurity platform for railway networks and operators. Cylus’ platform is already in place across many of the world’s leading railway operators, and we believe it will become the ubiquitous platform used across the industry. Together with its industry partners and collaborators, Cylus is on a mission to enable secure railway operations and travel for the years to come, and we could not be more excited to back them.” – Gal Gitter, partner and managing director of Ibex Investors.
“Cylus provides an essential element of protection to critical infrastructure that will enhance the safety and performance of train systems. Vertex Growth is proud to help back Cylus’ technology, which we believe offers the most comprehensive solution for rail cybersecurity on the market today.” – Vertex Growth Fund managing director TAM Hock Chuan,
“The railways are such an essential part of our critical infrastructure, and really, of our everyday lives, that it is crucial that this industry gets the level of cyber protection it demands, and needs . This tremendous vote of confidence from our leading global investors and partners will allow us to continue to provide best-in-market cybersecurity for this high growth market as we onboard more customers and partners worldwide.” – Amir Levintal, CEO and co-founder of Cylus.
