EDBI invests in US cybersecurity firm LogRhythm

Singapore

EDBI, the investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), has taken part in a US$50 million funding round into LogRhythm, a Colorado-based security intelligence and analytics firm.

EDBI's investment, the amount of which was not disclosed, comes as the Republic steps up its cybersecurity game, having recognised that the Internet is a new crime scene and that government agencies and companies are vulnerable to cyber threats.

In an announcement on Tuesday, LogRhythm said it would use the money to innovate and strengthen its balance sheet. It will also continue expanding globally; it already has offices in the United States, the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa.

The company said that there was potential in expanding its R&D and engineering efforts in Singapore, to take advantage of the cybersecurity capabilities of the research institutes and institutes of higher learning in the Republic.

It said: "LogRhythm can address Singapore's heightened concern on growing cybersecurity issues, and strengthen its cybersecurity resilience and ecosystem."

Chu Swee Yeok, chief executive and president of EDBI, noted that EDBI will support LogRhythm's drive to grow its existing regional headquarters presence in Singapore to advance its business in Asia.

LogRhythm offers a security intelligence platform designed to help prevent online breaches before they happen; it also responds to and neutralises damaging cyber threats and identifies threats and risks "to which organisations are otherwise blind".

Asked why the 2003-founded company stood out, EDBI pointed to its highly-scalable platform capable of supporting big data workloads. LogRhythm's integrated platform also reportedly removes the need for a large cybersecurity analyst team.

With the latest funding, LogRhythm has raised some US$126.25 million to-date; it last snagged a US$40 million Series E round in 2014.

Investors in this latest round include Riverwood Capital, Siemens Venture Capital, Delta-v Capital and members of the LogRhythm management team.

Meanwhile, Singapore is upping efforts to boost cybersecurity. Last week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced that it is seeking feedback on the proposed changes to rules on e-payments, an aim of which is to toughen cybersecurity for online payments.

Earlier this month, Singapore and the US inked an agreement to cooperate on cybersecurity issues. This new bilateral partnership will, among other things, commit to conducting joint exercises and collaborating on regional cyber-capacity building.

A new cybersecurity Bill to beef up the laws against online crime will be tabled in Parliament next year. Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister-in-charge of Cyber Security, had noted that while existing rules grant law enforcement agencies powers to investigate and apprehend cyber criminals, the nature of such crime has evolved.