The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.
The world is facing another pandemic alongside COVID: cyber-attacks. In 2020, malware and ransomware exponentially surged by 358% and 435%, respectively, compared to 2019. The severe lack of existing cybersecurity measures combined with the COVID-induced work-from-home (WFM) environment has created a perfect storm for cyber thieves to attack vulnerabilities.
According to Retarus.com, an average of $2.9 million is lost to cybercrime every minute. In 2020, the average data breach cost reached $3.86 million. Equally as concerning is the fact that the average time it took to identify and contain a breach in 2020 was an eye-popping 280 days. Overall, cybercrime activity is projected to cost $10.5 trillion annually by 2025 on a global scale.
T-Mobile’s cyber breach in August 2021 is the latest major hack to hit and marks the carrier’s fourth such attack since 2015. The scope and investigation into the hack are still ongoing, but T-Mobile says the cyberattack allowed hackers to obtain personal sensitive information from over 50 million customers. Information stolen included customer names, addresses, phone numbers, account PINs, dates of birth, and more.
It has never been more urgent for enterprises, governments, and consumers to take cyber threats seriously and improve digital security measures. Safe-T Group, Ltd. SFET is one emerging cybersecurity company that is benefitting from the heightened awareness surrounding cyber vulnerabilities.
Overview: Safe-T Group
Safe-T Group is a global cybersecurity and privacy solutions provider to enterprises and consumers. The company operates three main business segments: enterprise cybersecurity, enterprise privacy solutions, and consumer-focused cybersecurity & privacy solutions. Founded in 2013, the Israel-based company has relied on an aggressive growth business model, centered around organic growth of innovative solutions and strategic merger & acquisition deals with complementary businesses and technologies.
Enterprise Cybersecurity
Safe-T Group’s enterprise cybersecurity solutions are focused on on-demand, software-defined perimeter solutions. This essentially allows enterprises to protect access to their sensitive data by creating a separate access layer from the authentication layer.
ZoneZero® is a zero-trust network access (ZTNA) solution designed to help organizations to adopt more effective security, based on the "never trust, always verify" principle. ZoneZero® orchestrates the organization’s access, identity, and MFA solutions, creating a Zero Trust Access fabric that both unifies and controls all access use cases and scenarios, simply and seamlessly.
With its fully transparent, simple deployment, Safe-T provides an innovative and unique network-centric ability to implement ZTNA within corporate networks. Working side-by-side and in conjunction with all access points (VPNs, firewalls), identity security solutions, and application services, seamless integration across all legacy infrastructure and authentication services is enabled.
Whether in an office or WFH, Safe-T’s enterprise cybersecurity solutions are a viable solution to secure network access for on-premise and hybrid cloud environments. The innovative technology is also the only secure access platform available that can integrate with existing virtual private network (VPN) platforms or replace existing infrastructure. This means that contractors working from home with or without a VPN, or an in-house worker can all have secured access and protection against cyber vulnerabilities. Unlike standard access solutions, Safe-T’s enterprise cybersecurity solutions can control access based on the user’s identity and role within the organization.
Enterprise Cybersecurity Sales & Growth Strategy
The enterprise cybersecurity sales and growth strategy utilizes an indirect sales model that features engagement with global top-tier partners that have a strong background in the cybersecurity field and maintain large sales teams. Top-tier partners include distributors, resellers, integrators, Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP), and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) (white-label or branded) located around the world. Among the company's tier-1 partners and distributors are Fujitsu, Accenture, Edvance, DataGroupIT, and more.
The key benefits of utilizing this model are scalability, cost-effectiveness, sector expertise, and knowledge of their respective local market. Safe-T provides its top-tier partners with the ability to offer innovative cybersecurity solutions not available anywhere else.
There are two main growth drivers of the enterprise cybersecurity business: organic growth and mergers & acquisitions. Organic growth relies on the company's identity-based Zero Trust solution continuing to penetrate deeper into customer networks. The M&A growth driver features leveraging Safe-T's RSAccess-patented technology into new areas, such as automotive, Internet of Things (IoT), connected devices, or healthcare cybersecurity.
Among Safe-T’s notable enterprise customer base includes Philips, Lavego, IDF, the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT), and more.
Enterprise Privacy
The problem is that websites can change displayed information based on a user’s specific IP address, location, and other specific information. As a result, this leads to a potentially wide variation of information, which may or may not be accurate.
Using Safe-T's enterprise privacy solutions, users can access websites anonymously as a "simulated real user," by masking their IP address. This allows enterprises to view correct and accurate information, or allows law enforcement agencies to scan websites while hiding their actual source.
Safe-T's enterprise privacy solutions do not utilize third-party computers, instead opting for more secure internally controlled network servers, which makes its solutions the world's fastest, most advanced, and secured business proxy network. In addition, the use of internally-controlled network servers makes Safe-T one of the only companies with a strategic worldwide internet service provider (ISP) relationship.
Enterprise Privacy Sales & Growth Strategy
Safe-T's growth strategy for its enterprise privacy business is built around several key factors. First is from new enterprise privacy products that are developed internally, through mergers & acquisitions, or joint ventures. These new products can then be utilized for cross-selling opportunities, as well as adding new customers and new industries. With the vision of being the "one-stop-shop" for business privacy solutions, Safe-T has added three products over the past couple of years, covering all aspects of the enterprise privacy market. Safe-T is consistently searching for early growth opportunities across various market segments that are in demand by customers.
Consumer Privacy & Cybersecurity
According to Statista, consumers will spend around $6.99 billion on security software in 2021. Yet, data from Aite Group estimates total losses in 2021 from identity theft to reach a sweltering $721.3 billion. It’s not just about enterprises, consumers need advanced cybersecurity and privacy solutions as well.
Safe-T’s consumer cybersecurity business is designed to help shield users’ online activities from ransomware, viruses, phishing, and other digital threats. By providing real-time detection and blocking of threats from dangerous websites, Safe-T’s consumer cybersecurity solutions can help provide safer internet browsing. Parents can rest assured that Safe-T’s consumer cybersecurity technologies feature parental controls to ensure safe browsing when their child is online.
From a consumer privacy perspective, Safe-T’s goal is to keep users’ information private and secure through the addition of an encrypted layer for online privacy. This is especially important for consumers utilizing unsecured Wi-Fi networks, which are highly vulnerable to digital thieves. By generating an ultra-fast and secured tunnel for each user, information can be kept safe from the reach of third parties as well. Users can feel comfortable online with Safe-T’s consumer privacy technology, which will encrypt data while browsing on sensitive websites such as online banking, emails, and more.
Safe-T’s consumer cybersecurity and privacy solutions are available in monthly or yearly subscriptions.
SFET: Breakout Q2 2021 Financials, Record Quarterly Revenues
Safe-T Group reported second-quarter 2021 financial results on August 26, 2021, which provide further evidence that management's aggressive growth strategy is yielding results. During Q2 2021, Safe-T reported record revenues of $1,784,000, a year-over-year increase of 66% compared to $1,077,000 in revenue during Q2 2020. Gross profit for the quarter improved to 46%. The Company continues to be well-capitalized with cash and cash equivalents of $19,304,000 and no debt, as of June 30, 2021.
The Company’s strong quarter comes as its innovative technologies face increasing demand and partnership opportunities, as well as the successful integration of CyberKick. Management continues to see financial growth coming from organic growth of existing products, as well as strategic merger & acquisition activities.
Shachar Daniel, Chief Executive Officer of Safe-T Group, said, “The second quarter of 2021 was underlined by significant revenue expansion, culminating in record-breaking year-over-year revenue growth. These accomplishments are the result of our continued investments in making Safe-T Group a world-class cybersecurity and privacy provider. From the increased demand for our privacy platform to growing partnerships for our ZoneZero® solution, it has been a very productive quarter highlighted by the recently announced acquisition of CyberKick. The successful integration of CyberKick during the 3rd quarter, which joins our previous acquisitions, further validates our strategy to acquire innovative technologies and enroll talented entrepreneurs. Based on the great preliminary results we achieved during the first half of the 3rd quarter of 2021 - I believe that we will continue to achieve exponential growth in the coming future”.
Q2 Business Development Highlights
Safe-T's fantastic second quarter of 2021 goes beyond the record financial results. The Company had a major quarter with regards to business development. Perhaps the biggest news was the completed acquisition of the consumer-focused cybersecurity company, CyberKick, which produced revenue of $4.2 million during 2020. The integration of CyberKick’s thousands of customers in the consumer-based cybersecurity market strongly complements Safe-T’s existing solutions to enterprise customers.
Furthermore, management announced Safe-T produced revenues of $1 million in July 2021, thanks to the integration of CyberKick and organic growth. As a result, management estimates its annual run rate “may lead to significant annual growth compared to 2020 revenues,” as discussed in the earnings call.
Safe-T’s ZTNA technologies certainly had several high-level developments that continue to validate the company’s positioning in zero trust. The company’s Zero Trust Network Access product was granted product registration approval from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which increases the market & sales potential of the solution to other federal government agencies and approved contractors. Equally as impressive, ZoneZero was added to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solution for Enterprise-Wide Procurement contract vehicle (SEWP-V).
ZoneZero also led Safe-T Group to win the highly-coveted “Hot Company in Access Control” and “Best Product in Micro-Segmentation” awards at the 9th annual Global InfoSec Awards during the RSA 2021 conference. The Company also showcased ZoneZero at GISEC 2021 in Dubai as a sponsor and exhibitor. GISEC 2021 is considered the Arab world’s largest cybersecurity event.
Collaborations and partnerships saw a healthy boost during Q2. Safe-T partnered with ELCA Informatique SA, the largest independent IT and cybersecurity consulting firm in Switzerland, which opens the Company to the resale of its products and services in the country. Safe-T also announced a collaboration with Thales on zero trust access solutions to improve WFH secure access.
Respected market research firms gave Safe-T recognition during the quarter. The Company was featured in Gartner’s “Emerging Technologies: Adoption Growth Insights for Zero Trust Network Access” report. Furthermore, the Company was highlighted in Forrester’s “New Tech: Zero Trust Network Access, Q2 2021” and “Landscape Overview of 34 Providers” report. Lastly, Safe-T Group was named a “2021 emerging leader in the Zero Trust Network Security Market” by Quadrant Knowledge Solutions.
Overall, Safe-T Group continues to execute on its vision of building a world-class and leading cybersecurity company. Management's aggressive growth strategy not only focuses on the organic growth of its successful, existing technologies but also seeks to build upon its foundation through complementary strategic acquisitions. After successfully integrating and growing recent acquisitions, management's strategy appears to be validated.
The threat of cybercrime is not going away anytime soon. There is a higher probability that things will get worse before they get better, if enterprises, governments, and consumers continue the slow pace of adoption of advanced cybersecurity solutions. However, Safe-T Group’s impressive solutions portfolio makes the Company a formidable option to securing the world’s online activities. After this record second-quarter of 2021, it appears management's target of $50 million in revenue by 2025 is on track.
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The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.
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