Cryptek closes $10M funding round

Cryptek Inc. of Sterling, Va., a maker of network security products, has secured a $10 million Series B funding round, led by new investors Westbury Partners of Westbury, N.Y., and Walden Capital Partners LP of New York, company officials announced this week.

"This current investment will help to open new opportunities as we leverage our technology's strengths in addressing government, military and commercial IT security in the era of global anti-terrorism," said David Gross, chief information officer of Cryptek.

The new financing will provide working capital for Cryptek's two business lines. Cryptek designs and manufactures the DiamondTEK line of "hardened" information assurance systems used by the Defense Department and branches of the U.S. military; and the TS-21 BLACKJACK rugged, high-resolution facsimile machines deployed by military forces around the world.

DiamondTEK combines the functions of virtual private networks and firewalls with the ability to identify and authenticate users on a network, officials said. The technology allows clients to strictly control access to network databases. DiamondTEK has received the highest-level certification under the international Common Criteria rating system, a standard that defines methods for evaluating IT security products and systems, officials said.

Common Criteria certification allows the technology to be used at the highest levels of government, including the National Security Administration, said Matthew Kovar, director of security solutions and services at the Yankee Group, a Boston, Mass., technology research and consulting firm.

"Cryptek is well-positioned at the cutting edge of the next generation of security service switches, which the Yankee Group predicts will become the dominant network security architecture over the next three years," Kovar said.

Cryptek recently sealed a partnership with IBM Corp. of Armonk, N.Y., to provide enhanced database security to customers worldwide. The agreement will enable IBM customers to leverage the advantages of the DiamondTEK system without custom coding, excessive management overhead, or loss of performance, Cryptek officials said.

The company also announced that Joseph Fogg III and James Schubauer II, both founding partners at Westbury Partners, joined Cryptek's board of directors.