Today, in the COVID-19 World, working from home has become an accepted corporate culture, giving rise to security challenges across industries. Enterprises are waking up to the importance of cybersecurity, with rising demand for cybersecurity services among businesses. With such a massive need for cybersecurity, many startups are working towards bringing artificial intelligence into the field and securing companies with their endpoint security. Sequretek is one such company that is known among the circles to use unconventional ways to detect security breaches and using AI to spot an attack from miles away and stop it before it can cause any real damage.

Started in 2013 by Pankit Desai and Anand Naik, Sequretek is built on the foundation of ‘simplifying security’ — less complexity and driving down the cost of ownership. Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Sequretek is known for the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in its cybersecurity platform which is capable of exposing threat actors trying to enter customers’ systems from multiple touchpoints. It is among the few companies that provide end to end cyber-security offerings in the areas of endpoint security, identity governance access, threat intelligence, security monitoring and security management. 

Currently, the startup helps enterprises by providing endpoint security, which ensures that no malicious files enter the organisation’s endpoint through applications and devices by leveraging AI and ML and self-updates to fix existing vulnerabilities. To understand the landscape better and how the startup is making its way amid the competition, we spoke to Pankit Desai, the co-founder and CEO of Sequretek. “While we didn’t face typical startup teething troubles like signing the first client or raising funding, however, as a young company, the initial challenge was of being heard in the crowd,” said Desai.

Also Read: How This Cybersecurity Startup Is Using Machine Learning To Enhance Threat Intelligence

How Sequretek Simplifies Security With AI & ML?

“The security space runs on trust, where an organisation needs to have enough trust to share data with its security partner, and this can be achieved by displaying the capability of protecting their data and the proactiveness required for the same,” said Desai. “While we were well aware that we were entering a highly competitive space, we were also clear on the niche we wanted to build for Sequretek.”

Sequretek initially was established to provide security operations centre services to enterprises to help in security monitoring and management as well as manage third-party security software and devices. However, over the time, the startup gradually developed their Malware & Research Lab and an AI Research Lab, along with creating some critical products for access governance, endpoint security, endpoint detection, protection and response.

Sequretek’s Endpoint Detection Prevention Response (EDPR) is a next-generation endpoint security product, primarily focused on threat detection. It integrates machine learning-based threat detection, advanced antivirus, host firewall, advanced threat protection, host intrusion detection and prevention, device control, application whitelisting, vulnerability management data leakage prevention, and patching into a single product. The EDPR also runs as a single, lightweight agent on endpoints, and all the endpoints that are running EDPR are administered from a single management console that provides an end-to-end response. 

“Currently, one needs 8 – 9 different endpoint security products to reasonably secure the device,” said Desai. “We at Sequretek look at this problem differently. We believe it is the user who is the endpoint and not the device.” AI-powered EDPR has been designed to keep that in mind. 

It can activate different features depending on the nature of the threat that is trying to breach the system and provides real-time defence against zero-day threats, advanced persistent threats, ransomware attacks, and other malicious activities. In 2019, EDPR was certified by ICSA Labs, USA, an independent division of Verizon for Advanced Threat Defense where it has successfully achieved a detection rate of over 99.24% against less known and unknown malware and a 100% detection rate against ransomware.

Along with Sequretek EDPR — the endpoint security, its MDR, which is the security monitoring is also created by leveraging AI and ML for superior threat detection, proactive prediction, and automated response through highly trained and efficient deep learning algorithms. The product also leverages big data security analytics in collaboration with global threat intelligence to handle large amounts of data ensuring advanced anomalies and threats are detected. It orchestrates automated response workflow for events performing the recommended action and bolsters staff productivity through reducing workload. Most of the core technologies of the company are built on C++ with a sprinkling of python, jasper, and .net for some of the components.

With a raised funding of close to $4 million, Sequretek is currently working with over 60 medium and large companies across various verticals like BFSI, pharmaceutical, media, textile, automobiles etc.

Wrapping Up

Cybersecurity being a highly competitive market, there are several players in the market today who are offering a variety of solutions addressing limited cybersecurity issues. Sequretek’s major competition runs with some next-generation players who have multiple point solutions for different problems. The founders of Sequretek believe in continually raising the bar in order to keep up their relevance in this highly dynamic and challenging field of cybersecurity. 

Sequretek’s AI and ML-driven technologies ensure that the customers are equipped with necessary tools and technologies to fight against the complicated threats, known or unknown; and bring down the cost of ownership. The key ingredient to our approach is enhanced visibility into the enterprise. “Improved visibility in the cloud means precise, actionable intelligence, as well as more efficient and proactive management of resources,” concluded Desai.