Origin Story: Addressing the AI Shift in Cybersecurity
In 2024, We launched StrongestLayer with a clear mission: to protect organizations from the escalating threat of AI-generated phishing attacks. With the rapid rise of AI tools, traditional security tools are no longer enough, and we recognized three major challenges faced by security teams:
- AI-Powered Phishing at Scale: AI-driven tools enable attackers to create novel and scalable threats, rendering traditional email security reactive and ineffective against these evolving tactics.
- SOC Team Overload: Security Operations Center (SOC) teams are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of phishing threats, especially those generated by AI, making it harder to respond quickly and accurately.
- Ineffective Training: Traditional security awareness training, often focused solely on compliance, fails to prepare users for the sophisticated AI threats they now face.
StrongestLayer was built to address these gaps. Our advanced AI and small language models detect and stop AI-generated phishing threats in real time, directly within users' workflows. By enhancing user security awareness and integrating with SOC teams to triage threats efficiently, we help organizations proactively defend against phishing attacks at scale, reducing the burden on overworked teams.
We’re committed to revolutionizing cyber security in the AI era, equipping businesses with the tools needed to tackle this generational shift in cyber threats.
Riz
Co-founder & CEO
Co-Founder and CEO of StrongestLayer, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over 18 years of experience in cybersecurity, Riz has held leadership roles at Trellix and FireEye, where he developed the MVX detection engine for zero-day threats, the core of all FireEye products. He holds a BS in Computer Science from the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences and has a couple of patents in malware analysis.
Joshua Bass
Co-founder & CPO
Co-Founder of StrongestLayer, based in the Washington, DC area. With over 14 years of experience in cybersecurity, Joshua specializes in cyber threat intelligence, digital risk, and email security. He has held cybersecurity leadership roles at Google and Mandiant and has built security products for leading companies and government entities, including Bank of America, the US Department of Defense, and CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). Joshua holds degrees from Queen's University Belfast and the University of Alberta.
Riz
Co-founder & CEO
Co-Founder and CEO of StrongestLayer, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over 18 years of experience in cybersecurity, Riz has held leadership roles at Trellix and FireEye, where he developed the MVX detection engine for zero-day threats, the core of all FireEye products. He holds a BS in Computer Science from the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences and has a couple of patents in malware analysis.
Joshua Bass
Co-founder & CPO
Co-Founder of StrongestLayer, based in the Washington, DC area. With over 14 years of experience in cybersecurity, Joshua specializes in cyber threat intelligence, digital risk, and email security. He has held cybersecurity leadership roles at Google and Mandiant and has built security products for leading companies and government entities, including Bank of America, the US Department of Defense, and CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). Joshua holds degrees from Queen's University Belfast and the University of Alberta.