RiskIQ raises $25 million to augment its Web and mobile risk and malware detection service

RiskIQ, a company that detects online threats to a brand’s customers, announced on May 29 a $25 million series B round of financing led by Battery Ventures and supported by existing investor Summit Partners.

RiskIQ helps companies prevent attackers from exploiting their Web sites, mobile apps and advertising networks to distribute malware and commit fraud. The company also announced that Michael Brown of Battery Ventures has joined its board of directors.

“We were very impressed with RiskIQ’ s technology, team and vision for addressing a problem that is big and just getting bigger.”

“RiskIQ has developed an innovative solution that allows companies to police their digital assets — Web, mobile and advertising — against threats that can do harm to their customers, and ultimately their brands,” said Michael Brown, general partner at Battery Ventures. “We were very impressed with RiskIQ’ s technology, team and vision for addressing a problem that is big and just getting bigger.”

More than 100 companies, including eight of the 10 largest financial institutions in the U.S. and five of the nine leading Internet companies in the world, rely on RiskIQ to continuously monitor Web and mobile assets for malware, malicious apps and brand infringements.

The RiskIQ service combines Cloud-based intelligence and analytics with a worldwide proxy network and software that emulates real users to expose malware on Web sites, in mobile apps and advertisements. Most malware can recognize and evade typical Web crawler technology. Using RiskIQ, companies can detect and take down Web site resident malware, “malvertisements” and malicious and copycat mobile apps to protect customers from attack and fraud.

“Criminals are exploiting the trust that customers have in the brands they do business with online,” added Elias Manousos, CEO of RiskIQ. “Companies are recognizing this and looking for ways to protect their digital assets from being used to launch attacks against users. We knew this was going to be a big problem when we started RiskIQ several years ago. This new investment will help us take full advantage of this rapidly growing market opportunity.”

RiskIQ will use the funds to enhance research and development, expand outside the U.S. and invest in sales and marketing to grow market share in key sectors: insurance, ecommerce, media and consumer packaged goods.

“RiskIQ’s technology provides enterprise security professionals with a ‘searchlight’ to increase visibility and reduce risk for both the enterprise and its customers,” said Andy Collins, a principal at Summit Partners. “We believe the company’s innovative approach to Web and mobile app security is well positioned to lead this high-growth market, and we look forward to continuing our work with management in RiskIQ’s rapid expansion.”