Duo Security Raises New Round of Funding Led by Google Ventures

Duo Security, the Ann Arbor, MI-based authentication-as-a-service provider, has received an investment of $5 million from Google Ventures, True Ventures, and Resonant Venture Partners. The investment will allow Duo to expand the team, mobile security research, and strong authentication platform development. According to a press release from Duo, the company's technology works by leveraging users' mobile phones as a second factor of authentication, because passwords are vulnerable to being stolen by malware or guessed by an attacker. This significantly reduces the chance of account compromise. In the two years of its existence, Duo Security has added more than 500 customers with users across 80 countries. The company was founded by CEOs Dug Song and Jon Oberheide, both accomplished security veterans with a history of identifying and addressing weaknesses in software and networking technology. “We are developing solutions to address some of the most daunting challenges in computer security — account takeover and online fraud,” said Dug Song, CEO of Duo Security. “We have already seen traction with our service as companies across a range of industries adopt it to address security threats and maintain a great experience for their users.” Karim Faris, a partner at Google Ventures, said that, “Proper identity assurance and mobile security are critical for the growth of meaningful online services. Duo Security is committed to democratizing strong authentication and bringing this previously ‘enterprise-only' level of security to every Internet user.” Duo succeeds where other security companies have failed because it does not sacrifice usability for security. Steve Coplan, a senior analyst at 451 Research enterprise security practice, agrees. “The authentication market is ripe for disruption catalyzed by escalating threats, new modes of application access and new delivery models and form factors. Duo Security has designed its platform with these broader systemic challenges in scope. By coupling authentication with authorization and anti-fraud at an infrastructure level, Duo Security has the foundation in place to meet evolving market requirements as the disruption unfolds.” For more information on Duo Security, visit the

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