US-based mobile threat defence provider Zimperium raised $12m yesterday in a series B round led by telecommunications company Telstra, and which also featured engineering company Toyo Corporation and electronics conglomerate Samsung.
Venture capital firm Sierra Ventures and investment management firm Lazarus Israel Opportunities Fund also took part the round, which followed an $8m series A investment by Sierra in 2013.
Zimperium develops on-device software to detect threats and protect phones and tablets running Android or iOS from cyberattacks. It will use the fresh funding to support growth and to continue development of its product.
Mike Burgess, chief information security officer for Telstra, already a user of Zimpersium’s software ahead of the investment, said: “Malware for mobile devices is now being used in large-scale cybersecurity attacks against enterprise and government organisations.
“This presents a unique problem for companies trying to secure their corporate data, as mobile device usage grows and the number of cyberattacks increases. A security solution which protects mobile devices against these attacks should be a key part of every company’s cybersecurity strategy.”