Damballa Announces Plans For Company-Wide Growth, Names Ex-IBM ISS Exec As New CEO

PRESS RELEASE

ATLANTA, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Damballa, Inc., the company that stops Internet-based criminal use of enterprise networks, announced today that Val Rahmani has joined the company as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Damballa also announced today that it has raised a third round of funding, and that Jim Gauer and F. A. (Fran) Dramis have joined its Board of Directors.

Damballa's unique approach finds previously unidentified threats used in the escalating wave of cybercrime, then closes the hidden two-way communications channels that cybercriminals use to manipulate compromised corporate systems. These attacks are silent, stealthy and the weapon of choice for online attacks, fraud and abuse.

"These threats infiltrate even the best protected enterprise networks and turn corporate assets into contributors for criminal activity. That's why senior executives increasingly see a proactive defense as a critical part of their fiduciary responsibility," says Val Rahmani, Damballa's new CEO. "I am very excited by Damballa's vision and our unmatched ability to find and stop these threats."

Rahmani brings over 25 years of customer-driven business and technical leadership to Damballa. Most recently, she served as General Manager of IBM's Internet Security Systems (ISS) division. Prior to ISS, Rahmani directed several multi-billion dollar hardware, software and services businesses.

As CEO, Rahmani plans to significantly grow Damballa's customer base, extend the company's reach into new markets, and accelerate research and product development. The company is already moving aggressively to hire top-tier talent to complement its current staff.

Damballa's new round of investment was led by Palomar Ventures. Current investors InterWest Partners, Noro-Mosely Ventures and Sigma Partners all participated in this round. Jim Gauer, Managing Director at Palomar and veteran IT venture capital fund manager has joined Damballa's board, as has Fran Dramis, formerly Senior Vice President and CIO at Bellsouth. Mr. Dramis currently serves on multiple public and private boards.

Industry experts have welcomed Damballa's news. "The threat has evolved, and with few exceptions the security industry has not," says Joshua Corman, Research Director for Security at The 451 Group, a leading technology analyst organization. "While the majority of time and money is spent on static compliance checklists, dynamic adversaries have expanded from ego-driven vandals to profit- and politically-driven Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). Stealthy, sophisticated malware masterfully exploits the blind spots of legacy security - leaving enterprises exposed to loss and unwitting participation in deplorable forms of criminal and state-sponsored campaigns. We're pleased to see Damballa focused on modern, under-addressed threats."

Fran Dramis, industry veteran and new Damballa board member, comments that, "Damballa has a unique - and uniquely effective - product that keeps corporate assets from being used for criminal activity. It's this ability to both protect and integrate seamlessly with other solutions that's so interesting, and why Damballa presents a great growth opportunity to build a next-generation computer security company."

"This investment is a huge vote of confidence in our people and in our technology," says Rahmani. "We now have both the ability and the resources to deliver what's fundamentally missing in network security - the ability to stop even the most sophisticated cybercriminal threats."

For more information on Damballa solutions, please visit www.damballa.com or call 404-961-7400.

For an ongoing conversation about targeted threats, please visit the Damballa blog, The Day Before Zero, at http://blog.damballa.com/.

About Damballa, Inc.

Damballa closes enterprise security gaps by rapidly identifying and disrupting the open communications channels that online criminals use to infiltrate enterprise networks. These products and services integrate easily with existing security investments for accurate, cost-effective protection against hidden breaches that evade other solutions. Damballa stops these breaches through high-fidelity detection, powerful mitigation guidance for botnet malware, and simple passive integration with existing network and security infrastructure. The result is a smarter, more flexible security solution that responds to a wider range of current and future online threats. Damballa is privately held and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.