Carbon Black, Inc. (formerly Bit9, Inc) is a security company based in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Carbon Black develops endpoint security software that detects malicious behavior and prevents malicious files from attacking an organization.[1] The company is a leader in the antivirus, endpoint detection and response and endpoint protection platform space.
Carbon Black competitors in the endpoint security domain include Cylance, McAfee, Tanium, and Symantec. To-date the firm has raised $190M from investors including Kleiner Perkins, Highland Capital, Sequoia, Accomplice, and Blackstone.[2][3]
According to Bloomberg, the company is currently preparing for an IPO and has hired JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley to lead the offering. An IPO is expected as early as 2016.[4] In September of 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported the company filed their S-1 privately by using the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act which allows companies with less than $1 billion in revenues to file in a confidential manner with limited public disclosure.[5]
History
Carbon Black was founded as Bit9, Inc in 2002 by Todd Brennan,[6] Allen Hillery [7] and John Hanratty.[8]
Carbon Black’s first CEO was George Kassabgi.[9]
Patrick Morley, former Corel chief operating officer, is Carbon Black’s CEO. He took over the position in 2007.[10]
In 2013, the company’s network was broken into by malicious actors who copied a certificate and used it to sign malware.[11]
In 2015, the firm announced it would partner with SecureWorks, Ernst & Young, Kroll, Trustwave, and Rapid7 to provide managed security and incident response services.[12][13]
In 2016, the company announced that it was changing its name from Bit9, Inc to Carbon Black, Inc. This change became official on February 1, 2016[14]
Products
Cb Protection (Formerly Bit9): A comprehensive endpoint protection platform, Cb Protection offers application control, device control and advanced threat detection for desktops and servers. It is widely deployed on critical systems, such as servers and point of sale devices, for advanced threat prevention.
Cb Response (Formerly Carbon Black): A real-time endpoint detection & response solution used for advanced threat detection and incident response. According to the SANS Institute, Cb Response is currently used or being evaluated by 68% of incident responders.[15]
Cb Defense (Formerly Confer): A cloud-based next-generation antivirus solution leveraging behavioral based prevention. In addition to prevention, Cb Defense also provides endpoint detection and response capabilities.
Cb Collective Defense Cloud (Formerly Threat Intelligence Cloud): A cloud-based threat intelligence and file analysis service, hosted by Carbon Black, that provides software and domain reputation, advanced threat indicators, attack classification services, and file detonation and static analysis services leveraging behavioral analysis and machine learning. Consisting of billions of attributes, Cb Collective Defense Cloud is reported to be the world’s largest database of hash and file reputation scores.[16]
Acquisitions
Carbon Black: In February 2014, Bit9 announced it had merged with start-up security firm Carbon Black.[17] At the time of the merger, the company also raised $38.25 million is Series E funding, bringing Bit9’s total venture capital raised to approximately $120 million.[18]
Objective Logistics: In May 2015, Fortune announced that Bit9 acqui-hired a dozen member cloud engineering team from Boston-based, Objective Logistics.[19]
VisiTrend: In August 2015, Bit9 announced that it had acquired data analytics firm, Visitrend, and will open a technology development center in downtown Boston.
Confer: In July 2016, Carbon Black announced it had acquired next-generation antivirus provider Confer for an undisclosed sum. Confer had raised $25M in venture funding and had more than 50 employees at the time of the acquisition. According to the Wall Street Journal the deal was valued at $100M.[20]
Awards
- 2010: Winner – “Best Anti-Malware Solution” – Homeland Security Awards[21]
- 2013: Finalist-“Best Emerging Technology” – SC Magazine[22]
- 2014: Winner- “Best Endpoint Protection” – SANS Institute[23]
- 2016: Leader – Forrester Wave: Endpoint Security Suites Q4, 2016 – Forrester Research[24]
