Stoïk combines active security monitoring with cyber insurance products
Stoïk combines active security monitoring with cyber insurance products
Meet Stok, a new French startup that aims to protect small and medium-sized businesses from cyberattacks. The company provides insurance as well as a monitoring service for your attack surface.
Recently, the startup raised $4.3 million (€3.8 million) in seed funding from Alven Capital, Anthemis Group, Kima Ventures, and several business angels, including Raphael Vullierme, Emmanuel Schalit, and Henry Kravis.
Target of Stok
Stok targets SMEs in particular because they are extremely vulnerable to ransomware and other cyber attacks. And yet, small businesses frequently fail to protect their software infrastructure adequately.
"We're going to insure and protect you," Jules Veyrat, co-founder and CEO, told me. "However, the insurance product is what we're going to sell. If you are attacked, you have a phone number that you can call 24 hours a day, and all associated costs are covered."
Simultaneously, Stok will offer monitoring tools to assist small businesses in patching vulnerabilities in their infrastructure. In this case, Stok's incentives remain aligned with those of Stok's clients.
The fifteen-member team has already signed agreements with insurance companies to design insurance products. Stok sells insurance products and collects fees directly from clients — it earns a commission on each contract. It collaborates with a third-party company called Inquest to manage crises.
Similar operation to Coalition
Stok operates similarly to Coalition in the United States, except that it does not distribute its insurance product through brokers. The French startup aspires to establish a direct connection with its customers.
With regards to the technology product, you sign up for the service by entering your domain name and initiating a scan. Stok examines DNS records, identifies IP addresses, and searches online databases for leaks of passwords associated with this domain name.
You will receive a score and several tips on how to improve it. For example, Stok can inform you that certain services are externally exposed when they should not be. If your credit score exceeds a certain threshold and your annual revenue is less than €50 million, you can subscribe to the insurance product.
The business is currently in the pre-launch phase, with monthly contracts ranging from €50 to €400. Following that, it intends to expand the capabilities of its monitoring service. For instance, Stok wishes to conduct an internal audit. Consider scanning your Amazon Web Services configuration in order to identify any vulnerabilities. Additionally, this should aid in the closing of new contracts with potential customers.
