Austin, Texas-based ALTR emerged from stealth mode on Wednesday with a blockchain-based data security platform and $15 million in funding.
ALTR announced the immediate availability of its product, which has been in development for nearly four years while the company operated in stealth mode.
Originally designed to serve as the public transactions ledger for the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, blockchain is a distributed database consisting of blocks that are linked and secured using cryptography. Companies have been increasingly using blockchain for purposes other than cryptocurrency transactions, including for identity verification and securing data and devices.
ALTR’s platform uses blockchain technology for secure data access and storage. Built on what the company names ALTRchain, the solution allows organizations to monitor, access and store highly sensitive information.
The ALTR platform is designed to sit between data and applications, and it can be deployed without making any changes to existing software or hardware infrastructure. It offers support for all major database systems, including from Oracle, Microsoft and others.
The platform has three main components: ALTR Monitor, ALTR Govern, and ALTR Protect. ALTR Monitor provides intelligence on data access activities, creating an audit trail of blockchain-based log files.
ALTR Govern is designed for controlling how users access business applications. Organizations can create and apply rule-based locks and access thresholds in an effort to prevent breaches.
ALTR Protect is designed to protect data at rest. It decentralizes sensitive data and stores it across a private blockchain in an effort to protect it against unauthorized access in case any single node has been compromised.
The company also announced that it has opened access to its proprietary blockchain technology by making available its ChainAPI, which allows developers to add ALTRchain to their applications.
ALTR has raised $15 million in funding from private and institutional sources in the cybersecurity, financial services and IT sectors. The money will be used to extend the reach of the company’s platform and launch additional products based on ALTRchain.
ALTR told SecurityWeek that its platform has already been deployed at a healthcare organization, a mid-sized service provider that caters to both Fortune 1000 companies and government agencies, and a couple of firms in the financial services sector.
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