Foregenix spins off tech to new venture Turaco Labs

The UK-based payments cybersecurity specialist Foregenix has sold its in-house technology to a newly established company, Turaco Labs, founded by Foregenix co-founder Benjamin Hosack. Turaco Labs aims to bring Foregenix's enterprise-grade solutions to the global eCommerce industry while allowing Foregenix to focus on its core services business.

The flagship product of Turaco Labs, ThreatView Advanced, is set to be one of the most comprehensive eCommerce solutions available, providing protection against malware and other cyber-attacks while simplifying compliance with the PCI DSS payments security standard.

ThreatView builds on Foregenix's existing technologies, FGX-Web and WebScan. These technologies have been used extensively in digital forensic work to monitor the security status of millions of eCommerce sites, including those of major banks and payment processors. According to the firms, the technology has since seen significant enhancements.

Benjamin Hosack plans to assemble a dedicated team of approximately 10 to 15 staff within the next year as Turaco Labs scales its business and technology. Despite the new venture, Hosack will maintain his role as a board member at Foregenix. The two companies will continue to collaborate closely, with Foregenix utilizing ThreatView to support its banking and payment processing clients and continuing to employ Turaco Labs' products.

This launch comes at a crucial time with the new PCI DSS version 4.0 requirements set to be fully enforced on 31 March next year. Additionally, there has been a significant increase in cyber-attacks targeting eCommerce sites over the last year. Research by Foregenix highlighted that of the 15 million sites it monitors, over 20,000 were compromised in the first quarter of this year, marking more than a twofold increase from the previous quarter. Digital loaders, which load skimmer code into visitors' browsers to capture payment data before it reaches the vendors' payment systems, have become a prevalent threat.

Benjamin Hosack stated, "I have always been a big believer in the benefit that Foregenix's products could bring to the industry. However, Foregenix's focus on its core services has meant that the solutions have played a more supporting role. The launch of Turaco Labs will enable the product business to achieve its full potential, by further developing the solutions and rolling them out to the eCommerce industry."

With the rise in cyber risks and complexities surrounding PCI compliance, ThreatView aims to address these challenges with a user-friendly solution. It is available in three tiers, including a free service and an Advanced level priced at USD $59 per month, featuring forensic-level monitoring, real-time threat detection and protection, and a USD $10,000 breach protection warranty per site.

Established in 2009 and based in Swindon, UK, Foregenix has become a global player in payments cybersecurity, with 110 staff and offices in the US, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, South Africa, Singapore, and Australia.