The shares of Japanese startup Cyber Security Cloud (CSC) soared by 670 percent after a series of cyber attacks hit Japan since January this year.
Since the demand ballooned mid-March, the company’s valuation reached $800 million. According to experts, the gains are driven by the revival of interest among retail investors and the sudden adaptation of the work-from-home setup.
CSC’s specialty in data and application storage also paved the way for corporate entities in Japan to switch to the company’s services. For several years, most Japanese companies rely on US and European storage solutions firms to assist in business operations.
Aside from Amazon Web Services and Alphabet’s storage services, some Japanese firms invest a significant amount to US tech companies for cost-efficient service.
“It was obvious that if there were fewer people actually working in their offices, companies would become thinner and weaker in terms of their cyber security,” said founder Hikaru Ono.
Volatile Decision
Many analysts believe that CSC’s decision to list in the stock market is a ‘volatile decision.’ This is because economic depression is expected due to the ongoing pandemic. Steep drops in the tech companies’ shares have been happening since February and this could result in losses.
Despite this, CSC founder Ono was determined to push ahead with the IPO and even get ready for the rapid expansion. Ono also acknowledged that CSC is still a startup and many companies might think twice when it comes to sensitive services like data management and storage.
“We are one of only a few Japanese cyber security companies anyway, so I thought if we didn’t go for it, there would be fewer of us around to protect Japan,” added Ono.
Way back in March, Ono has been mentioning about the sharp rise in the cyber attacks as more people work from their homes. This prediction came to reality as Japanese media reported the existence of thousand fake sites mimicking government agencies.
Aside from government websites, fake websites circulating also tries to fish information from bank customers and other companies. Since employees are using personal computers and equipment to work at home, security is greatly compromised.
Hackers are actively targeting small to large businesses as well as international organizations, healthcare bodies, and the academe. Given this situation, Japanese companies started investing in security to prevent the even bigger cost of data breaches.
Cyber Security Cloud was founded in 2010 and currently has 45 employees.
