Meet Bastion, a French firm founded in October 2022 to assist small businesses in addressing cybersecurity issues without adding undue complexity. The business, founded by former Palantir workers, has already raised $2.8 million.
Bastion aims to be your first and final cybersecurity subscription, which sets it apart from other cybersecurity firms. It uses a software-as-a-service model to package a number of distinct solutions that are all focused on cybersecurity issues.
First, a number of business angel investors, including Denis Duverne, Joshua Motta, Renaud Deraison, and Galle Olivier, as well as Global Founders Capital, Kima Ventures, and Motier Ventures, made investments in the firm..
The four co-founders of Palantir, Arnaud Fournier, Arnaud Drizard, Sébastien Duc, and Robin Costé, were already engaged in some capacity in cybersecurity. Some of them were members of a limited group responsible for cybersecurity that was exempt from participation by governments and public agencies. One of them was in charge of delivering huge banks and insurance firms anti-fraud services.
Co-founder and CEO Arnaud Fournier said, ‘Companies we contact with tell us: ‘We have an insurance broker, an accountant, why would we have numerous cybersecurity products?”
In a large city, you have two options for locking your bike: either use three separate locks to guarantee that the wheels are securely fastened and that the bike is mounted to a pole. By doing this, you can almost completely guarantee that your bike won’t be stolen.
Or you may spend money on a genuine U-lock to ensure that it is secured more firmly than most motorcycles. And Bastion is here.
In essence, Bastion’s ideal client merely wants to make sure that their business is secure and doesn’t have a significant weakness that may lead to a major catastrophe in the future.
Bastion currently features four distinct components. The business first conducts phishing simulation testing since workers sharing credentials is a major source of security problems. Riot and Bastion are in opposition with this training module.
To ensure that your attack surface is as minimal as feasible, Bastion monitors your web apps and infrastructure. You receive a list of fixes from the firm to enhance your settings.
Third, Bastion checks and safeguards endpoints like laptops used by employees. According to Fournier, “We offer an EDR solution, which is a kind of enhanced antivirus technology with a staff that looks at what’s occurring in real time. Endpoint detection and response is referred to as EDR. Bastion collaborates on this product with a white-label EDR supplier.
Finally, Bastion’s fourth module aims to assist businesses in keeping track of incoming emails. Customers may currently report questionable emails so they can determine for sure if they are genuine or not. The startup eventually aims to assist you in setting up filters on incoming emails so that they never even reach the inboxes of your staff.
“We discovered that the market-available items for some of these things were rather pricey for what they delivered. Eighty percent of what is required is rebuilt, or we use open-source building components, according to Fournier.
Bastion charges around €10 per employee each month for the whole package. Although it costs money, certain businesses might opt to subscribe to some of Bastion’s services.
It’s interesting to note that the corporation has no plans to market its goods directly to small businesses. Instead, the business collaborates with banks, insurance organisations, and other businesses as well as external security service providers.
Bastion intends to establish a network of partners that are already assisting small and medium-sized enterprises and who may begin marketing Bastion to their own clients in the coming months. Of course, new features and product upgrades will also be included.
