Reshef Builds Blue Security

Entrepreneur Eran Reshef has surfaced again with a fledgling anti-spam-and-spyware firm called Blue Security Inc., which has just raised $3 million in seed funding.

Reshef was the man behind firewall software firm Sanctum, which was bought by Watchfire Technologies Inc. for an undisclosed fee last year (see Watchfire Secures Sanctum, Eyes IPO).

The exec, who served as an officer in an elite technology unit in the Israeli military, also founded fellow security startup Skybox Security Inc. Reshef is still a board director of Skybox, which attracted over $10 million in Series C funding earlier this year (see Startup Skybox to Raise $10M).

Benchmark Capital, an investor in Skybox Security, has stumped up the cash for Blue Securitys seed round, and Reshef says it will go towards developing and launching the company’s core security technology.

But he's not saying much more. “I can’t tell you very much -- we’re currently releasing very few details."However, Reshef did confirm that the product is based on a concept similar to the U.S. national Do Not Call Registry, a list of numbers that telemarketers are not allowed to contact. Blue Security’s Do Not Disturb Registry, as it is known, is due for launch later this year.

Reshef promises that the Registry will benefit both enterprises and consumers. “It’s a totally new approach; it’s not like filters or anything that you have seen before."

The product is currently being tested in a lab, he adds, although trial versions of the program will be launched later this year.

Blue Security is based in Menlo Park, Calif., has an office in Israel, and employs 15 people.

One reason for Reshef’s reticence could be the highly competitive nature of the security market, particularly where spyware is concerned. Few users have so far been untouched by the spyware problem, and the major security vendors are now all jostling for position.Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) (NYSE: CA), for example, have already hit the M&A trail (see Microsoft Acquires Giant and CA Acquires PestPatrol).

Security giant Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) is also looking to make an impact in this space, while Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) recently boosted its anti-spyware story (see Symantec Extends Spyware Protection and Cisco Sets Out Security Strategy).

Blue Security’s other founder is Amir Hirsh, who also has some success in the security startup space. Hirsh was once the VP of research and development at Riptech, a company that was snapped up by Symantec for $145 million in 2002.

— James Rogers, Site Editor, Next-Gen Data Center Forum