StealthMole: Dark Web Analytics to Predict & Prevent Cybercrimes

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Dark Web Monitoring Solution by StealthMole Enhances Cybersecurity

If you want to start your day by ending up on a government watch list, go ahead and do some further research on the dark web after today’s breakdown.

Cybersecurity is critically important for every organization, but as evidenced by daily headlines of “So and So was hacked!” and “50 million customers had their entire life histories stolen and posted on Twitter in a data breach!” it’s not easy.

Even more challenging than convincing Sarah from HR not to click on the link in that email promising to tell her which celebs were diddlied by Diddy is collecting enough data to understand attacks.

Enter StealthMole, a Singaporean startup that focuses on using dark web analytics to predict and prevent cybercrimes.

The company was founded by cybersecurity experts with experience ranging from managing traditional cybersecurity systems to more “if you can’t beat’em, join’em” tactics like white-hat hacking. Specifically, the team is deeply familiar with R&D on cybercrime in Asia.

They’re seeking to address the lack of dark web data by leveraging 255 billion pieces of information from places like leaked databases, Telegram, and various other hard-to-reach places.

Growth:

• 50 clients in 17 countries (Asia, Europe, the Middle East)

• $7 million Series A led by Korea Investment Partners

Market Size:

• Dark web analytics is one of the fastest growing segments of cybersecurity ($520 million, 22% CAGR, = $2.9 billion by 2032)

• Asia is expected to be the fastest growing region ➡️ reasonable SAM ~ $870 million

• The team’s expertise and industry clout make $130 million a realistic SOM

Competitors:

• Sixgill

• ZeroFox

• Hadrian Security

Team:

• Louis Hur, CEO - serial cybersecurity founder

• JinSeon Choi, CTO - experienced researcher who worked as an advisor for the National Intelligence Service in South Korea

• Kevin Yoo, COO - experienced BD and Sales professional bringing the suit and tie experience needed to convince large companies to trust you with their money

At the end of the day, a cybersecurity solution will only be as successful as the results they produce. The same holds true for StealthMole.

However, there are a couple of reasons to believe that StealthMole is on the right track:

• Tons of experience and trust in the Asian market where they are the only region-focused solution

• They provide data rather than protection, meaning they’re not the ones on the hook when shit hits the fan

• They don’t have to worry about convincing customers they’re doing a good job in an industry where the only time you ever notice the work they’re doing is when they mess up

Long-term, I could see the company expanding their geographic footprint or potentially providing some of these direct services.

However, even in the here and now, StealthMole looks like they’re prepared to cosplay as Scooby-Doo in foiling the plans of those big, bad computer nerds.

In addition to your weekly startup analysis, I’ll be providing a roundup of the top stories, tools, and resources from the past week. Today’s is free to anyone as an example, but starting next week, this section will be gated and available only to those who have referred a subscriber.

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• Biiiiig week in AI startup exec movement

  • Inflection CEO Mustafa Suleyman was poached by Microsoft to revitalize Microsoft’s consumer AI applications through its new Microsoft AI team

  • Stability CEO Emad Mostaque got jealous of the attention that Suleyman was receiving and one-upped him with a dramatic resignation, claiming that centralized AI cannot be defeated by more centralized AI

  • My take? Both Suleyman and Mostaque realized that there was no chance in hell that either of their companies would overtake OpenAI or any of the other major AI companies and sold at the top. Could be a sign of some tough valuation realizations for many AI startup founders in the coming months…

• Robinhood unveiled its long-anticipated Gold Card, impressing one newsletter writer with its 3% cashback and 5% savings account yields

  • Not sure how sustainable this is given not even Apple was able to make the financials work (and their APY was even lower)

  • Assuming the company will take a loss on this new product, though they’re convinced that the customer acquisition boost will outweigh this short-term hit

  • Unless you’re an Amex card maxi, you should honestly take advantage of this deal

• Google.com, Google’s charity wing, announced a $20 million accelerator program to support nonprofits building with Generative AI. Initial projects include a student writing coach and a program working with the World Bank to make development research more accessible.

  • If you have big ideas for making the world a better place with AI but know it’s not venture scalable, this could definitely be an option worth checking out.

• My favorite tool that I found this week: Focumon! It helps you to power through filing those taxes by enhancing any boring tasks with gaming-like rewards.

• And the winner of April Fool’s jokes that I really, really wish were real:

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Cheers to another day,

Trey