Turkish cybersecurity firm Picus Security has announced that it completed its $24 million (TL 231.24 million) Series B funding round this week. The breach and attack simulation technology company will use the investment to accelerate its expansion plans and strengthen its position in the international markets.

Established in Ankara in 2013, Picus Security is trying to ensure that companies can proactively manage cybersecurity risks during digitalization processes and currently operates in many regions of the world.

The investment was led by Turkven, with participation from existing investor Earlybird Venture Capital and cybersecurity veteran Nathan Dornbrook.

This latest round takes the total funding Picus has received to $33 million. The company plans to use the funds to help accelerate its expansion in North America, Europe, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asian-Pacific countries.

Simulating threats

Rather than reacting to security breaches, Picus provides companies with the Complete Security Control Validation Platform, which simulates real-world cyber threats, including ransomware and advanced persistent threat (APT) variants.

Organizations can use this platform to assess and improve the effectiveness of their security controls.

The platform includes more than 11,000 attacks and over 70,000 actionable mitigations. The tool is updated daily to reflect the latest adversarial techniques and behaviors.

Picus validates controls at prevention and detection layers, including NGFW, SIEM and EDR tools, and supplies vendor-specific mitigation content that enables security teams to swiftly address threat coverage and visibility gaps.

One of the leading names in the breach and attack simulation (BAS) market, Picus has hundreds of customers worldwide.

It was listed as the highest-rated BAS provider in Gartner Peer Insights customer reviews in October. Its success comes in a period when security teams are struggling with daily operations and are trying to protect a larger attack surface.

Backed by channel and its managed service provider partners, the San Francisco-based company has seen a 400% growth rate internationally since 2019.

Security being tested

"For too long, organizations have been forced to make assumptions about the state of their security posture," said Picus co-founder and CEO Alper Memiş.

"Our platform puts an end to this uncertainty by helping security teams to measure and improve the effectiveness of their security controls to prevent, detect and respond to threats," Memiş noted.

He said the latest investment will allow the company to continue to provide its customers with the Cyber Security Validation Platform that helps them both test security tools and optimize them with less effort.

"It will contribute greatly to our growth as an enterprise that was born in Turkey and spread all over the world."

Cyber attack simulation

Seymur Tari, Turkven CEO, said Picus is the pioneer of breach and attack simulation, and "we are excited to support the company as it takes continuous security control validation to the next level."

"All corporate boards have to manage the business and reputational risks of cybersecurity breaches. With the Picus platform, they can obtain real-time insights to more clearly assess their security posture, better understand the value of investments, and make more informed decisions," Tari added.

As security teams and business leaders shift from a reactive to a proactive approach to security, the company has recently also launched its Purple Academy, which offers free online training to help learners of all levels improve their knowledge of the latest cyberattack methods and defense strategies. To date, more than 4,500 students in 160 countries have completed courses.