Technology
European cyber insurance startup Stoïk secures $27 million
Cyber risk is becoming an increasingly necessary issue for small businesses around the globe. While many corporations strive to avoid and minimize cyber threats, they rarely discuss transferring these risks to a 3rd party.
This is why Stoic enters with a cybersecurity insurance product designed specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises. The French startup recently raised a Series B round value €25 million (about $27 million at current exchange rates).
In many respects, Stoïk follows within the footsteps of corporations corresponding to Coalition AND And Zatoka. But as a substitute of selling its insurance products to U.S.-based corporations, Stoïk focuses exclusively on European corporations.
Businesses insured by Stoïk are protected against cybersecurity claims. For example, if an organization has to halt production or temporarily close as a result of a cyber incident, Stoïk can compensate for the lack of revenue (gross operating margin) during this era.
Stoïk currently covers corporations with an annual turnover of €750 million or less and offers insurance limits of €7.5 million. Currently, the corporate operates in France, Germany and Austria.
The startup selected this particular industry because cyber insurance is more complex than other forms of insurance products. Stoïk has also built a small internal crisis management team to answer incidents and assist with data recovery and crisis communications.
“Since the beginning of the week, we have had over a dozen attacks on our portfolio, including one serious one,” co-founder and CEO Jules Veyrat told TechCrunch last week. “In the Lyon region, we mobilized people following a ransomware attack that brought an industrial company to a standstill.”
Once customers join, they are going to receive an outline of their cyber risk exposure. The startup monitors DNS records and scans online databases for password leaks related to a client’s domain name. Stoïk also can perform internal scans to recommend changes to cloud and Active Directory configurations.
“Our thesis is that we’ll insure corporations. Moreover, we’ll help them higher protect themselves against cyberattacks. This way they’re pleased, they get more for a similar price and we’re pleased because now we have policyholders who’re well protected and due to this fact have fewer claims than others,” Veyrat said.
Stoïk still has some similarities with the broader insurance industry – it have to be careful not to simply accept too many bad apples into its client portfolio, as this might significantly impact the corporate’s loss ratio.
“The task of insurers is to select risk. So who do I accept and under what conditions? How well do they understand cybersecurity?” – Veyrat said. “In other words, am I willing to take on a €50 million industrial company that has no offline backup strategy? This is just an example, but we ask ourselves such questions every day.”
Stoïk serves as Managing General Agent (MGA), which implies he works with insurance and reinsurance corporations on their risk coverage. Stoïk can create its own rates, products and policies, however it outsources risk to larger insurance corporations.
One of such partners is Tokio Marine HCC International, which is the one latest investor within the Series B financing round. Current investors also invested within the round. Alven is leading the Series B round, which also includes Andreessen Horowitz, Munich Re Ventures, Opera Tech Ventures and Anthemis.
Stoïk doesn’t sell its insurance products on to its customers. Instead, it really works with third-party insurance brokers who already work with small and medium-sized businesses. So far, Stoïk has acquired 1,000 insurance brokers.
By the tip of 2024, Stoïk must have 5,000 policyholders. It currently represents €25 million in premiums and plans to extend customer registrations in the long run. The startup plans to expand to a brand new country yearly, starting with a brand new European market in late 2024 or early 2025.
Technology
US medical device giant Artivion says hackers stole files during a cybersecurity incident
Artivion, a medical device company that produces implantable tissue for heart and vascular transplants, says its services have been “disrupted” resulting from a cybersecurity incident.
In 8-K filing In an interview with the SEC on Monday, Georgia-based Artivion, formerly CryoLife, said it became aware of a “cybersecurity incident” that involved the “compromise and encryption” of information on November 21. This suggests that the corporate was attacked by ransomware, but Artivion has not yet confirmed the character of the incident and didn’t immediately reply to TechCrunch’s questions. No major ransomware group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Artivion said it took some systems offline in response to the cyberattack, which the corporate said caused “disruptions to certain ordering and shipping processes.”
Artivion, which reported third-quarter revenue of $95.8 million, said it didn’t expect the incident to have a material impact on the corporate’s funds.
Technology
It’s a Raspberry Pi 5 in a keyboard and it’s called Raspberry Pi 500
Manufacturer of single-board computers Raspberry Pi is updating its cute little computer keyboard device with higher specs. Named Raspberry Pi500This successor to the Raspberry Pi 400 is just as powerful as the present Raspberry Pi flagship, the Raspberry Pi 5. It is on the market for purchase now from Raspberry Pi resellers.
The Raspberry Pi 500 is the simplest method to start with the Raspberry Pi because it’s not as intimidating because the Raspberry Pi 5. When you take a look at the Raspberry Pi 500, you do not see any chipsets or PCBs (printed circuit boards). The Raspberry Pi is totally hidden in the familiar housing, the keyboard.
The idea with the Raspberry Pi 500 is you could connect a mouse and a display and you are able to go. If, for instance, you’ve got a relative who uses a very outdated computer with an outdated version of Windows, the Raspberry Pi 500 can easily replace the old PC tower for many computing tasks.
More importantly, this device brings us back to the roots of the Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi computers were originally intended for educational applications. Over time, technology enthusiasts and industrial customers began using single-board computers all over the place. (For example, when you’ve ever been to London Heathrow Airport, all of the departures and arrivals boards are there powered by Raspberry Pi.)
Raspberry Pi 500 draws inspiration from the roots of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a non-profit organization. It’s the right first computer for college. In some ways, it’s a lot better than a Chromebook or iPad because it’s low cost and highly customizable, which inspires creative pondering.
The Raspberry Pi 500 comes with a 32GB SD card that comes pre-installed with Raspberry Pi OS, a Debian-based Linux distribution. It costs $90, which is a slight ($20) price increase over the Raspberry Pi 400.
Only UK and US keyboard variants will probably be available at launch. But versions with French, German, Italian, Japanese, Nordic and Spanish keyboard layouts will probably be available soon. And when you’re in search of a bundle that features all the things you would like, Raspberry Pi also offers a $120 desktop kit that features the Raspberry Pi 500, a mouse, a 27W USB-C power adapter, and a micro-HDMI to HDMI cable.
In other news, Raspberry Pi has announced one other recent thing: the Raspberry Pi monitor. It is a 15.6-inch 1080p monitor that’s priced at $100. Since there are quite a few 1080p portable monitors available on the market, this launch is not as noteworthy because the Pi 500. However, for die-hard Pi fans, there’s now also a Raspberry Pi-branded monitor option available.
Technology
Apple Vision Pro may add support for PlayStation VR controllers
According to Apple, Apple desires to make its Vision Pro mixed reality device more attractive for gamers and game developers latest report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The Vision Pro was presented more as a productivity and media consumption device than a tool geared toward gamers, due partly to its reliance on visual and hand controls moderately than a separate controller.
However, Apple may need gamers if it desires to expand the Vision Pro’s audience, especially since Gurman reports that lower than half one million units have been sold to this point. As such, the corporate has reportedly been in talks with Sony about adding support for PlayStation VR2 handheld controllers, and has also talked to developers about whether they may support the controllers of their games.
Offering more precise control, Apple may also make other forms of software available in Vision Pro, reminiscent of Final Cut Pro or Adobe Photoshop.
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