Linx Blog

After a little over a year of relentlessly hard (and fun!) work alongside my co-founder, Niv Goldenberg, I’m excited to share that today Linx Security is emerging from stealth.

Already working with large-scale companies across a large variety of industries such as financial services, retail, real estate, technology companies and others, Linx is helping them dramatically shrink their identity attack surface and close major gaps in compliance—by enabling them to finally get control over their whole identity lifecycle.

Here is how we got to where we are today.

From physics to 8200 to identity security

Niv and I go back a long time. Twenty years back, in fact.

We first met while working together in the army’s cybersecurity unit (8200, the NSA equivalent). The sheer urgency and complexity of the projects we were tasked with played a critical role in molding our approach to problem-solving. And we found a mutual passion for tackling challenges head-on—especially, the types of challenges that others had already given up on.

Our shared passion continued through university, where we collaborated on physics and computer science projects. And it carried through to our professional roles—myself as the Director of Engineering at Checkpoint Security, and Niv as the VP of Product at Transmit Security. But we always knew that one day, we would tackle some of the world’s most complex issues together.

From our origins in physics to 20+ years in the cybersecurity space gave us dual abilities: one, the ability to ask the right questions (which is never as straightforward as it seems), and two, the ability to find the most practical way to resolve the problem—quickly. “Who should have access to what?” is such an easy question to ask, but so difficult to resolve. But as soon as this problem is solved, it would significantly relieve the pressure from enterprises where most of them have moved to having identity as their main perimeter. A complexity that we feel fortunate to have the opportunity at Linx to solve.

The evolution of identity security

Identity Authorization used to be simple. It was a closed system, on-prem, based on one source of truth—the Active Directory.

Meaning the biggest problem for companies was authentication and verification. Ensuring only authorized users had access to your systems, assets, and information.

But just as the law of conservation of momentum states, momentum is constant in an isolated system unless an external force is applied.

And that’s exactly what happened to identity. In a very short period of time, it had multiple, external forces thrown at it—which significantly increased its momentum, causing identity management and security to spin out of control.

First, it was the shift of infrastructure and applications to the cloud—beyond the control of on-prem solutions. Second, this shift to the cloud led to a rapid increase in the scale of human identities—we see this today, with one person owning multiple online aliases and login credentials. And third, the fast introduction of machine identities to organizations.

Further complicating matters, at large organizations, identity is fractured across three siloed teams: identity, security, and IT. Each team tackles identity from a different perspective, using their own tools for their specific responsibilities within the lifecycle. This fragmented approach creates a complex mess, filled with security and compliance risks – even with the wealth of existing solutions available.

And even though countless solutions existed for identity verification, authentication, and security, companies were still struggling to get identity under control.

We thought—why? Why does it have to be so hard? Why does it have to be so complicated?

That was the moment we knew we had found the challenge we wanted to solve.

So we rolled up our sleeves and got to work.

Uniting security, identity, and IT teams to get control over identity security

The result is what you see today: Linx, a refreshingly different identity security platform that is a significant departure from existing solutions.

Linx enables organizations to finally get the whole identity lifecycle under control with a radically modern approach that unites identity, security, and IT ops teams—by mapping the hidden relationships between employees, their digital identities, and the apps, software, platforms, and programs they have access to.

By providing the right tools, visibility, and understanding, along with deeply contextual insights and automated workflows, Linx allows these teams to work together efficiently and seamlessly to control and secure identity. Enabling organizations to ultimately shrink their identity attack surface and close gaps in compliance.

To our customers, we thank you for your ongoing support and trust. And to Index and Cyberstarts, and to our advisors—your guidance has been instrumental in making this product a reality.

To my co-founder, Niv, and the rest of our amazing team—I'm incredibly proud of what we've accomplished so far, and I can't wait to share even more details about our product and vision as the months unfold.

We are excited for what the future holds as we untangle the complexity of identity security. Once and for all.

NEW YORK, New York, July 22, 2024 – Linx Security, a pioneer in modern identity security and governance solutions, emerged today from stealth and announced that it has raised $33 million in funding. The round was led by Index Ventures and Cyberstarts, with investors also including entrepreneurs Mickey Boodaei (Imperva, Trusteer, Transmit), Rakesh Loonkar (Trusteer, Transmit), Assaf Rappaport, and Yinon Costica (Wiz, Adallom), as well as Cerca Partners and Knollwood Investment Advisory.

Founded in 2023 by Israel Duanis (CEO) and Niv Goldenberg (CPO), Linx Security emerged with a mission to redefine how organizations secure and manage identities across complex digital landscapes. Both Israel and Niv are experienced cybersecurity executives with proven track records spanning over 25 years. Before founding Linx, Israel co-founded Fleetonomy, a pioneering AI-driven fleet management solutions platform, which was acquired by Via in 2020 and led the threat prevention line of business at CheckPoint Security. Niv’s last role before co-founding the company was VP Product at Mickey Boodaei’s Transmit, which during Niv’s tenure doubled its ARR.

The 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) revealed that more than half of all breaches involve a human element, accounting for 68% of incidents. The 2024 Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA) Report found that 84% of organizations have experienced an identity-related security breach, with 78% facing direct business impacts as a result. The recent Snowflake breach serves as a prime example of the potential damage, as hackers gained access to the accounts of up to 165 Snowflake customers by exploiting stolen customer credentials, possibly marking it one of the largest data breaches ever.

“Identity security is one of the urgent cybersecurity pain points organizations struggle to address in today’s fast-paced business environment," said Israel Duanis, CEO of Linx Security. "Our platform empowers organizations to navigate the complexities of identity security and governance with confidence, ensuring they stay ahead of evolving threats and regulatory requirements."

Linx Security's cutting-edge technology eliminates the blind spots and gaps inherent in traditional identity tools. Linx maps and monitors the relationships between users, their identities, and the access and permissions they have to company data and resources, and uses advanced identity analytics and automation to enable organizations to effortlessly shrink their attack surface, achieve compliance, and streamline operations across the entire lifecycle of users and identities. In one case, Linx detected ungoverned access to a client's code repository. By identifying all accounts and linking them to their human owners, Linx assessed each user's permissions and risk level. This revealed a former employee's unsecured access, which Linx promptly revoked, reducing the organization's attack surface and improving security.

"Identity is the top threat vector for the modern enterprise. Identity teams under the CISO are struggling to cope with a growing number of tasks and suffer from antiquated legacy solutions.  The highly motivated and accomplished Linx team will undoubtedly leverage their vast experience, creativity, and vision to tackle that" said Cyberstarts' Founder, Gili Raanan. "We are proud to partner with Israel and Niv from day zero, on their journey to build Linx".

"Linx Security represents a pivotal advancement in identity security solutions, poised to redefine how organizations safeguard their digital assets”. said Shardul Shah, Index Ventures Partner. “With a visionary leadership team and innovative technology, they are well-positioned to lead the industry in mitigating evolving cyber threats".

About Linx Security

Linx Security is at the forefront of transforming identity security with an innovative platform that addresses the limitations of traditional identity tools. By continuously minimizing the attack surface and mitigating compliance vulnerabilities, Linx Security helps organizations protect identities in real-time, aligned with the dynamic pace of business operations. Offering comprehensive visibility of all identities, along with advanced threat detection and automated identity risk remediation, Linx ensures effective identity management and governance. The platform's precise insights and actionable recommendations enhance security posture while streamlining operations.

For more information about Linx Security and its innovative solutions,
please visit www.linx.security