Former HBGary CEO Launches Endpoint Security Startup

Outlier Security, a startup co-founded by former HBGary CEO Greg Hoglund emerged from stealth mode today with a new approach on how enterprises can detect threats targeting their endpoints.

Outlier Security approaches endpoint threat detection by focusing on the forensic evidence already available on the machine itself. “The endpoint is a treasure trove of forensic evidence…the endpoint has the forensic record of almost everything that happens,” Hogland told SecurityWeek.

Outlier Security’s first product is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) based endpoint threat detection and incident response (ETDR) tool called Outlier, which collects the evidence directly from the evidence so that enterprises can proactively hunt for threats. Outlier takes the data from endpoints, applies cloud-based analytics, and lets incident responders identify the threats. Unlike other threat detection platforms on the market, Outlier is agentless; there is no software agent that needs to be installed on the endpoints being monitored.

There are several endpoint visibility systems designed to monitor endpoints to uncover compromised endpoints, but they typically rely on data collection agents installed on the monitored endpoints. Many IT operations groups balk at deploying or managing agents. That may be because the agent may conflict with another agent or software on the machine. Or it may be because agents can be costly to manage and do not always scale well.

The alternative, where security teams rely on manual processes to detect breaches on the endpoint, is time-consuming and costly. Things get missed and false positives are harder to filter out. “Enterprises need a way to quickly close the loop between events happening on endpoints and incident response,” Hogland said.

If the endpoint already has the evidence of what’s really going on, there is no need to query an installed agent to provide the same information, Hogland said. Agents were “overengineered,” and no longer necessary, he said.

Outlier Security intends to automate data filtering and analysis to help enterprises identify high-risk alerts and false positives. The system detects known indicators of compromise, malicious actions, and unknown malware. Security teams would be able to look at underlying contextual evidence to verify threats and respond quickly. “Advanced endpoint monitoring and security analytics don’t have to be hard or painful,” Hogland said.