Defending Against Data Attacks

Data breaches at companies rose 30 percent between 2012 and 2013, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. With data leaks on the rise, and by company insiders, businesses need ways to detect breaches and quickly shut them down.

That’s the sweet spot of FlowTraq, a network security company in Lebanon co-founded by Dartmouth College professors Vincent Berk and George Cybenko in 2004. Its server-based technology monitors network activity, conducts forensic analysis and sends alerts about attacks, botnets and suspicious data movement. 

It tracks network activity in real time, and tracks months or years of stored network traffic flows. Its proprietary algorithms can learn a range of network behaviors and instantly alert  people about anomalies. Berk, president and CEO, says the average computer contacts about 400 other servers in a given day, so if a computer spikes to 1,000, it can be a sign of something nefarious. Or if someone starts sending large amounts of data from their company computer at night to another location, that too can be a red flag.

Computer activity is driven by human activity. “It’s predictable behavior,” Berk says. “These cyclical patterns can be learned. FlowTraq studies these patterns and learns what times of day these patterns are happening and remembers that.”

FlowTraq keeps all the data it collects. For example, Berk says, if the FBI sends out an alert about the latest IP address behind a bot attack, FlowTraq can quickly review past history to see if a company’s system has interacted with that IP address. “We find real bad actors in people’s networks that others can’t,” Berk says.

Heavy hitters, including eBay, PayPal, Newport News and Constant Contact are using FlowTraq’s technology. It now works with about 50 customers. FlowTraq is licensed on a per server basis, with a single license costing just under $10,000. “We’ll typically see customers spend between $30,000 and $90,000 with us. We’ve had some spend over $200,000 with us,” Berk says. 

Earlier this year FlowTraq partnered with ConverterTechnology, a data risk management firm in Nashua, to sell its technology. FlowTraq has been doubling revenue since it launched. The company employs six full time and expects to hire 10 more employees this year. For more information, visit www.flowtraq.com.