Netskope raises $401M from Morgan Stanley / Microsoft acquires Fungible for $190M / New VSCode security flaw tracked

Plus: Hack the Box raises $55M

Inside.com Part of   Network January 09, 2023

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Netskope has raised a $401M funding round from Morgan Stanley and other investors to provide zero-trust security software solutions. The round was oversubscribed, according to the company. More: The company offers software that enables users to replace VPNs with zero-trust network access and unify their cybersecurity applications. Goldman Sachs Asset Management, CPP Investments, and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan also participated in the round. The company says it has more than 2,400 total customers worldwide, including over 25 Fortune 100 companies. Since its inception in 2012, the company has raised $1.5B in funding. Netskope is based in Santa Clara, California.

Microsoft has acquired data processing company Fungible for $190M. Fungible was previously mentioned for a potential sale to Meta. More: The company aims to solve the inefficient execution of data-centric computations within server nodes by providing industry-leading DPU technology. A DPU is hardware designed to push processing tasks, security software, and network routing for data traffic.  Microsoft aims to use this acquisition to offer multiple DPU solutions and advance its hardware technology. Fungible was founded in 2016 by a former Apple engineer. The company raised $300M in funding since its inception before this acquisition deal.

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A new VSCode security flaw has been tracked by researchers. The software is used by 70% of software developers worldwide. More: Researchers found that they were able to create and use the logo, description, GitHub stats, and other key information from VSCode extensions. Once the fake extension is published, the more it's downloaded, the more believable it looks for developers who do not watch the difference between the fake and the original extension closely.   This fake version was downloaded over 1,800 times in 48 hours. Besides the flaws that researchers found on their own, two suspicious extensions tracked as "API Generator Plugin" and "code-tester" were tracked. The two extensions could have enabled hackers to deploy man-in-the-middle cyberattacks and breach targets.

Cybersecurity training startup Hack the Box has raised a $55M Growth funding round. The platform has over 1.3 million users. More: Hack the Box is a training platform that enables its users to gain cybersecurity skills through different tutorials and challenges. Osage University Partners, Brighteye Ventures, and Marathon Venture Capital participated in the funding round. Organizations such as Toyota, Siemens, EA Sports, The New York University, and UCL have trained their staff in the platform. Founded in 2017, Hack the Box has raised over $60M since its inception. Hack the Box has 180 employees. The company is based in Kent, England.

Cyberattacks surged 38% globally in 2021, according to a new report. Healthcare organizations saw the largest YoY increase in cyberattack volume out of all industries. More: Q4 saw the most cyberattack, with 1,168 weekly attacks per organization. The most targeted sectors were: Education (2,314 cases), Government and military (1,661 cases), and Healthcare (1,463 cases). The report claims that hackers are targeting collaboration tools such as Slack, Teams, and Google Drive due to the vast amount of information they can steal.

Quick Hits: Delight your family, guests, or team like never before with Vestaboard, the award-winning messaging display. Learn more.* Researchers have tracked the operators of the Kinsing Cryptojacking hacker group trying to gain access to Kubernetes systems. A new study has shown a new method that could be used to breach victims through a text-to-SQL model that deploys malicious code and runs DDoS attacks. Customers of Flying Blue, the loyalty program for Air France and KLM, have been breached. The announcement was made by the company, which stated that their data might have been stolen. The EU has established the revised NIS2 directive, legislation that is meant to help the EU improve its cybersecurity capabilities. Low email open rates? Test out these 4 workflow strategies to get higher open rates — up to 300% more.* *This is sponsored content.

Upcoming events at Inside: January 10 - Inside Startups Coffee Break (Register Here) January 12 - AMA with Gun.io - Building and managing software development teams w/ Deividi Silva (Watch On Demand) January 13 - AMA with LinearB - Improving workflow for developers w/ Ori Keren (Watch On Demand) January 17 - Inside Marketing Coffee Break (Register Here) January 18 - Inside Interview with Lacework - 4 Common Attack Paths in Cloud Security (Register Here) January 31 - Growth Summit 2023 (Register Here)

Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. Editor Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords.

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Disney's Bob Iger asks workers back to the office / Goldman Sachs to lay off 3,200 / Ex-McDonald's CEO settles with the SEC

Plus, President Biden declares state of emergency in California over storms.

Inside.com Part of   Network January 09, 2023

Presented by

Disney CEO Bob Iger has asked hybrid employees to return to the company’s corporate offices four days a week starting March 1. The announcement comes less than two months after Iger returned to the CEO role. More: In an email to employees, Iger noted the importance of in-person collaboration, stressing the importance of connecting, observing, and creating with co-workers. Other large companies have embraced more flexible employee working arrangements, requiring just two or three in-office days. Iger has been changing Disney’s organizational structure and has kept the company’s hiring freeze implemented by his predecessor. Iger resumed the role of Disney CEO in November after the board fired Bob Chapek.

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has asked Southwest how it plans to prevent another systems failure that caused more than 16,000 flight cancelations over the holiday period. DiNapoli oversees New York state's pension system. More: DiNapoli said Southwest's operations failure resulted in profound customer dissatisfaction and regulatory scrutiny and is expected to cost the airline a significant amount of money. In a letter addressed to Southwest CEO Bob Jordan, DiNapoli asked how the airline plans to rebuild public trust and its employees' trust. As of September, New York's state pension system owned about $17.6M worth of Southwest shares. Last week Southwest said it expects to post a loss for its Q4 due to the meltdown of its system last month following the winter storm. The airline estimates cancellations from Dec. 21 through 31 would reduce its Q4 pretax income by $725M to $825M. Southwest is expected to report its Q4 earnings on Jan. 26.

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According to sources, Goldman Sachs plans to lay off 3,200 employees, or 6.5% of its workforce, starting this week. Late last year, it was reported the investment bank was planning to lay off around 4,000 workers. More: The job cuts will impact various units of the firm, including its consumer business, trading operations, and investment banking. Goldman had about 49,100 employees globally as of October 2022. The bank still plans to hire analysts and other junior roles as needed. The investment bank is set to report its Q4 financial results on Jan. 17. Goldman’s layoffs come months after Barclays, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley announced smaller job cuts at their respective firms.

Canada has agreed to buy 88 F-35 fighter jets from U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin for C$19B ($14.2B). The first jets are expected to be delivered in 2026. The entire fleet will be operational between 2032 and 2034. More: Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said the purchase was the largest investment in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 30 years. Canada had held a competitive process between Lockheed, Boeing, and Sweden’s SAAB; Lockheed emerged as the winner. Officials estimate the total cost over the lifetime of the jets is C$70B ($52.3B). The jets are expected to last until 2070. Canada was part of a consortium that helped Lockheed Martin develop its F-35 jet. Canada is paying the same amount for the aircraft as the U.S. and other participants.

Former McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook has settled with the SEC over allegations of making false and misleading statements to investors regarding his dismissal from the fast-food restaurant. Easterbrook was fired in November 2019 over his sexual relationship with employees. More: Easterbrook agreed to pay a $400,000 fine without admitting or denying the charges. He is also barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years. Easterbrook served as McDonald's CEO from 2015 until he was dismissed in 2019. McDonald's had said Easterbrook violated the company's policy on personal conduct. The SEC also charged McDonald's for initially treating Easterbrook's termination as without cause. The company and the regulator have settled. McDonald's was not fined.

British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is buying U.S. biotech firm CinCor for $1.8B. AstraZeneca is paying $26 a share for CinCor, which represents a 121% premium on the company’s Friday close price. More: The AstraZeneca-CinCor deal was the largest announced on Monday as the 41st JPMorgan Healthcare Conference kicked off in San Francisco. The annual conference is the largest gathering of the who’s who within the pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare sectors. As part of the deal, AstraZeneca will receive the cash and other securities on CinCor’s balance sheet, worth about $522M. CinCor shares plunged in November after a phase 2 trial for its blood pressure treatment, baxdrostat, failed to show significant improvement in hypertensive patients. The company is planning a phase 3 trial. AstraZeneca will pay CinCor shareholders an additional $10 per share if and when baxdrostat is submitted for regulatory approval.

Quick Hits Low email open rates? Test out these 4 workflow strategies to get higher open rates - up to 300% more.* Rolls Royce saw record sales in 2022. A newly approved drug to treat Alzheimer's will cost $26,500 per year. Moderna is considering hiking the cost of a shot of its COVID-19 vaccine to $110 to $130 to match Pfizer's earlier price increase. Oscar Mayer is now hiring drivers for the Wienermobile. Delight your family, guests, or team like never before with Vestaboard, the award-winning messaging display. Learn more.* *This is sponsored content.

Upcoming Events January 10 - Inside Startups Coffee Break (Register Here) January 12 - AMA with Gun.io - Building and managing software development teams w/ Deividi Silva (Watch On Demand) January 13 - AMA with LinearB - Improving workflow for developers w/ Ori Keren (Watch On Demand) January 17 - Inside Marketing Coffee Break (Register Here) January 18 - Inside Interview with Lacework - 4 Common Attack Paths in Cloud Security (Register Here) January 31 - Growth Summit 2023 (Register Here)

Vanessa Omeokachie is a writer for Inside.com; she writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring.  Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. Editor Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords.

Superside: The secret source for hiring the top 1% design talent 2X faster and 50% less expensive.

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