Anders Malmström is the new CEO of Spintop Ventures’ portfolio company Defentry. He joins the Nordic cyber safety company as they’re preparing to scale-up in western Europe and the US. Defentry protects personal data for millions of individuals around Europe, through a real-time 24/7 digital monitoring and alert service for individuals and companies.
– I’m excited to join Defentry at this time when we’re ready to reach users in new markets. There’s absolutely potential for a global expansion and our ambition is towards Europe and the US. Cyber security is becoming more important every day. We’re creating cyber security for the masses, says Anders Malmström.
Anders Malmström’s latest professional achievement is as CEO for Foreseeti that he led through Series A and finally selling to Google earlier this year. He has a solid background in tech, with experience from heading the expansion of Glue, a smart lock for your home and from launching ICA’s e-commerce development.
– My experiences from commercializing tech solutions and SaaS will come in handy as Defentry enters the scale-up phase. This is a platform that can truly change the game by starting with the individual. Today, cyber security is an active conflict on the geopolitical arena, but it’s also the playing field for organized crime, says Anders Malmström.
Everything starts with the individual
Defentry addresses a rapidly escalating problem, the amount of digital information linked to one’s own digital identity will only continue to increase in the future.
– In 2014 our co-founder Christer had his identity stolen. They hacked his accounts, made purchases in his name and even applied for bank loans. He had a hard time getting help and it took over a year before he was able to stop them. So Christer and his childhood friend Farid founded Defentry, to put an end to identity theft. If you use Defentry, you act preventively in the same way as the person who attacks and tries to steal your data, says Anders Malmström.
The typical user today has to remember 100 passwords, which leads to many people use the same password for several accounts. This creates weaknesses and increases the risk of being exposed to hacker attacks and fraud. Cyber security starts with the individual.
– We have repeatedly seen that hackers tend to find cracks and with reused passwords the path is paved for the attacker to the individual. Defentry is a way of dealing with the fact that we are all humans with flaws. By using Defentry a person can be made aware that an attack is about to happen and Defentry will help to take preventive steps to avoid it, says Anders Malmström.
Defentry monitors multiple sources, partly the Darknet where many hacks are published. The platform also includes monitoring public sources such as address changes in the civil registry, registration of new credit cards and credit approvals.
– It is very common for users to be involved in several leaks, we see that it is common that passwords have not been changed – simply because you do not know that you have been affected. When you use Defentry and there’s suspicious activity, you will receive an alarm with concrete advice on how to act, for example change a password. About a fifth of our users receive an alarm every month, says Anders Malmström.
Defentry can also be used to increase safety and protect companies from the risk of being hacked. The exposure for companies becomes indirect, it becomes a hidden risk for the companies. The digital presence of every individual in a company can be a potential security risk.
– Companies will be able to use Defentry not to point a finger at an individual employee, but to help that person increase their security, for example by suggesting appropriate counter measures, such as two-factor authentication when needed, says Anders Malmström.
Distributing with three-party collaborations and insurance companies
Defentry started out as a B2C-company but later the decision was made to change to B2B and Defentry is building a co-branded solution. Partnering with well known distributors with direct access to consumers turned out to be a better way to reach a broad group of consumers.
– We distribute mainly via insurance companies, but now we have also started three-party collaborations. Very soon customers of Norwegian bank cards in Norway, Finland and Denmark can use Defentry through Tryg, and next year we will offer Defentry to those who buy tech products via Elgiganten. And just two weeks ago, we launched a new collaboration. Anyone who buys a Mac through B2B IT-Partner, Apple Authorised Reseller, is offered three months to try Defentry, says Anders Malmström.
Want to know more about Defentry and follow their journey, visit their site or reach out to Anders Malmström.