Need to secure non-human entities, leaky clouds, and complex environments? The companies included in our network security startups to watch series have bold ideas. Credit: Cal F / Shutterstock dope.security is one of Network World’s 7 network security startups to watch for 2024. It rearchitected the traditional secure web gateway (SWG) to avoid routing traffic through cloud data centers. By performing security directly on the endpoint instead of routing traffic through stopover data centers, dope.security says its SWG can boost network performance fourfold. dope.security at a glance Founded: 2021 What they do: Provide secure web gateways (SWG) Funding: $20 million Headquarters: Mountain View, California CEO: Kunal Agarwal Competitors include: Forcepoint (through its acquisition of Websense), Netskope,Symantec (through its acquisitions of Blue Coat), and Zscaler Customers include: Plansource and Success Academies Why dope.security is a startup to watch: Cloud security risks are numerous and growing. According to ICS2’s 2024 Cloud Security Report, 96% of organizations are worried about public cloud security, and more than half (55%) consider securing multi-cloud environments as their top challenge. Many legacy security solutions don’t have the ability to fully investigate and respond to cloud and SaaS threats. Conversely, cloud-native security solutions tend to force enterprises to route traffic through cloud data centers, which sacrifices network performance. dope.security intends to improve cloud security and performance by rethinking legacy secure web gateway (SWG) design, removing a stop between enterprise resources and end users. The startup uses airline terminology to drive home the point, calling its architecture “fly direct.” dope.security’s SWG architecture eliminates stopovers at cloud data centers, which the startup says improves performance up to fourfold. Instead, dope.security’s SWG performs security directly on the endpoint, including URL filtering, SSL inspection, and cloud app control. Dope.security also provides AI-powered Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) services, including Data Loss Prevention (DLP), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM), and contextual analysis of an organization’s publicly exposed data. The startup has raised a total of $20 million in VC funding. Its most recent round closed in March 2023, a $16 million Series A round led by Google Ventures (GV), with participation from existing investors boldstart ventures and Preface. dope.security Read more about network security startups Aembit brings identity management to non-human workloads Astrix Security manages non-human entities across networks and clouds Corelight boosts AI-driven network detection and response Dazz aims to unify security remediation with AI-driven platform Mitiga zeros in on cloud and SaaS security Qevlar AI tackles alert fatigue with autonomous investigation Jeff Vance is the founder of Startup50.com, a site that discovers, analyzes, and ranks tech startups. Follow him on Twitter, @JWVance, or connect with him on LinkedIn. Related content news Alkira expands NaaS platform with ZTNA capabilities Network-as-a-service vendor Alkira looks to extend security down to user policies and posture for a full zero-trust approach. By Sean Michael Kerner Oct 23, 2024 6 mins SaaS Network Security Networking news IBM launches platform to protect data from AI and quantum risks The SaaS-based Guardium Data Security Center provides unified controls for protecting data across distributed environments, including hybrid cloud, AI deployments and quantum computing systems. By Michael Cooney Oct 22, 2024 4 mins Generative AI Hybrid Cloud High-Performance Computing analysis Gartner: Top 10 strategic technology trends for 2025 Agentic AI, post-quantum cryptography, AI governance, and hybrid computing are among the most pressing and potentially disruptive trends that enterprises are facing, Gartner reports. By Michael Cooney Oct 21, 2024 8 mins Generative AI Edge Computing Network Security analysis Has the time come for integrated network and security platforms? Platformization buy-in has been elusive in the past, but AI could be the impetus for enterprises to give new consideration to the idea of a consolidated network and security platform. By Michael Cooney Oct 21, 2024 5 mins SASE Generative AI Network Security PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe