Israeli IoT security startup Sternum raises $6.5 million for code that can protect nearly any device

Sternum, an Israeli IoT cybersecurity company that offers on-device protection, has raised $6.5 million in Series A funding. Led by Square Peg, the round was joined by existing investors Merle Hinrich, btov Partners and some private investors including Boston-based entrepreneur Eyal Shavit and Udi Mokady, the founder and CEO of CyberArk. The Tel Aviv startup was founded in 2018 by Natali Tshuva, who’s now the startup’s 28-year-old CEO. Rather than focus on patching vulnerabilities or securing networks, Sternum’s security approach starts with the IoT device; from the device up, so to speak. The startup’s solution can be put directly into a device’s binary code and integrated into a wide range of them – low-end, high-end, old, new, RTOS and Linux-based – with no configurations or changes to existing code required. Not only does Sternum’s code ‘immunise’ devices from breaches, it also monitors all activity (including third-party apps) which produces a lot of valuable data currently not captured by manufacturers. What will be done with all the accumulated data is not mentioned in the press release. This latest funding, which brings the total raised to $10 million, will go to expanding the R&D team and developing the company’s go-to-market strategy. So far Sternum has partnered with public enterprise Telit and an unnamed global medical device manufacturer.