Netcraft Secures First Funding with Over $100M from Spectrum Equity; Names Experienced Technology Executive Ryan Woodley as New CEO

Leader in internet cybersecurity solutions for global brands and governments announces strategic milestones to accelerate growth.

SALT LAKE CITY and LONDON, July 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Netcraft, the global leader in cybercrime detection, disruption, and takedowns announced today that the company has raised over $100M from Spectrum Equity, a leading growth equity firm focused on internet-enabled software and data services companies.

Along with the investment from Spectrum, the company named experienced technology executive Ryan Woodley as its new CEO. Woodley has decades of experience leading growth-oriented technology companies and an established track record of success. He was previously CEO of Progressive Leasing (NYSE: PRG), a leading financial technology company, which grew from approximately $220 million to $2.5 billion in revenue and went public during his tenure. He also served as COO and CFO at DigiCert, the world's largest high assurance digital security certificate authority, which roughly tripled in size during his tenure and was successfully sold to a private equity firm. Most recently, Ryan has served on the boards of high growth technology companies, PDQ.com and Conservice.

Founded by Mike Prettejohn, Netcraft offers cybercrime detection and disruption services. With an advanced technology platform that enables the company to disrupt and take down cybercrime online in an automated manner, it's become the world's largest provider of takedowns which are delivered as a subscription service to financial institutions, governments, and corporations globally. The investment from Spectrum Equity will help accelerate the company's strategic plans to drive growth and expand globally.

"I'm grateful to my colleagues and our customers who have grown Netcraft from a laptop and a modem to the point where it now serves many of the world's largest enterprises and governments, without any outside funding. Having decided to accept growth equity, we chose Spectrum because of its success in scaling other cybercrime businesses, particularly Verafin and Ethoca, prior to their respective sales to Nasdaq and Mastercard," said Prettejohn.

"Mike and his incredible team have built a truly differentiated offering for organizations of all sizes looking to stop cyberattacks," said Parag Khandelwal, Managing Director of Spectrum Equity. "Its scale is a testament to its effectiveness – Netcraft has blocked more than 173 million malicious attacks and takes down more than 15 million cyberattacks each year. Netcraft takes down roughly one-third of all global phishing attacks on behalf of its customers. We're honored to partner with this company and work closely with Ryan to help bring its solutions to more organizations worldwide."

"This significant funding will help us accelerate progress toward our mission of detecting and disrupting cybercrime at scale to create a safer online experience for everyone," said Ryan Woodley, CEO of Netcraft. "Powered by an exceptionally talented team, Netcraft's speed, scale, and effectiveness is unmatched in the global fight against cybercrime. I am excited to join this team and work alongside a distinguished group of customers and partners in furthering our innovative approach to protecting the world from cybercrime."    

Netcraft empowers its customers with advanced cyber defense solutions backed by a proven track record of success enabled by:

• Global threat intelligence: The data Netcraft has gathered continuously over decades uniquely positions the company to power its robust threat detection and response platform. Its automated process enables real-time identification and validation of current threats to customers and the global community. Netcraft's uniquely valuable intelligence feeds are consumed by most major browsers and leading antivirus software vendors.
• Rapid & Effective Takedowns: Netcraft has cultivated a long-standing reputation with hosting companies, DNS providers, registrars, and ISPs. Leveraging these relationships along with sophisticated threat classification, internet infrastructure knowledge, and a history of past attacks, Netcraft responds to threats and attacks with exceptional speed and effectively shuts down malicious activity.
• Continuous Innovation: Netcraft's cybercrime detection and takedown platform combines data-driven automation with artificial and human intelligence to address and remove more than 100 attack types. Because cybercrime activity is constantly evolving, the company has a team of experts with the agility and experience to respond to new threats and attack types as they arise.
• Transparency & Visibility: Netcraft delivers detailed evidence for every validated attack and ensures customers are updated in real-time on the progress and status of all active takedowns. Customers can easily access robust reporting through its portal or APIs that integrate seamlessly with internal systems.

About Netcraft 

Netcraft is a global leader in cybercrime detection and disruption, combining cutting-edge technology with decades of experience to protect organizations of all sizes from digital threats and attacks. Its mission is to detect and disrupt cybercrime at scale through constant innovation, extensive automation, and unique insight, delivering a safer online experience for everyone. Headquartered in the UK, Netcraft is the trusted cybersecurity partner for three of the largest companies, twelve of the largest banks, and governments of five of the largest economies in the world. Netcraft's comprehensive threat feeds, early fraud detection capabilities, and swift automated takedowns are unparalleled in the industry, scaling to perform takedowns for nearly one-third of the world's phishing sites, blocking more than 170 million malicious sites. For more information, visit www.netcraft.com.

About Spectrum Equity

Spectrum Equity is a leading growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support to innovative companies in the information economy. Since 1994, the firm has partnered with proven entrepreneurs and management teams to build long-term value in market-leading internet-enabled software and data services companies. Representative investments include Ancestry, BATS Global Markets, Definitive Healthcare, Ethoca, OffSec, SurveyMonkey and Verafin. For more information, including a complete list of portfolio investments, visit www.spectrumequity.com.

Contact:
Danielle Ostrovsky
Hi-Touch PR
410-302-9459
[email protected] 

SOURCE Netcraft