Keep Aware is a pioneer in human-centric browser security. Its platform eliminates the browser blind spot, ensuring complete visibility of browser activity and providing robust protection against known and unknown people-targeted attacks, including credential phishing, spoofing, social engineering, and malicious extensions. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Keep Aware founder and CEO Ryan Boerner to learn more.
Ryan Boerner’s Background
Boerner has a background in computer engineering and started his cybersecurity career as a SOC analyst. “My main responsibilities were investigating and responding to network-based threats across various state schools and agencies in Texas. I focused on network and email security detection engineering, working on integrating security solutions within the SOC. I also gained experience working at IBM and Darktrace, where I collaborated with organizations of various sizes. These experiences have equipped me with a strong understanding of network security and have made me realize the disconnect between employees in an organization and the security team. We built strong defenses, but like many others in the field, threats would still find a way to our users,” said Boerner. “I am CEO at Keep Aware, so I’m hyper-focused on building our team and working with our customers to develop a solution that meets their current requirements for browser security and grows with them as their businesses evolve. In my free time, I naturally gravitate back to detection engineering and investigating threats we’ve seen across our environment.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for Keep Aware so far? “My favorite memory working for Keep Aware so far is the moment when we secured our first customer contract. Building a startup requires significant effort, and that milestone of going from 0 to 1 is truly special. It validates the value of what we are building and reinforces the impact we can make. The demos with prospective customers that “Wow… You all are on to something” are also cherished moments. These instances highlight the significance of our work and motivate us to keep pushing forward,” Boerner reflected.
Challenges Faced
Has the current macroeconomic climate had any effect on the company? “It hasn’t had too much effect on the company – keep in mind. I quit my job to build this company at a time when even some friends and family were questioning if it was the right move given the economy. It has changed how we are building, though – there is no time for building solutions that do not directly value security teams. As a SOC analyst, you often have many signals and must filter through the noise to find true threats. I view building a startup and product the same way. There’s a lot of “what if” and paths you can take to build, but teams that focus on true pain points and solving those, succeed,” acknowledged Boerner.
Core Products
What are Keep Aware’s core products and features? “Our core offering is Keep Aware Browser Security. The platform eliminates the browser blind spot, ensuring complete visibility of browser activity and providing robust protection against known and unknown browser-targeted attacks, including credential phishing, spoofing, social engineering, and malicious extensions. While traditional, perimeter-based technologies focus on blocking known “bad” traffic and permitting “good” traffic, Keep Aware secures the considerable gray area where the risk level of any specific activity may be unclear. It leverages advanced user behavior analytics to assess risk, identify threats, and respond in real-time to any attack,” Boerner explained.
Evolution Of Keep Aware’s Technology
How has Keep Aware’s technology evolved since launching? “We’ve been very intentional about the cross-compatibility of our product. When we say we want to secure every browser, we mean it, but that means providing a unified lens and uniform controls across the different browsers we use daily, without compromising the user experience,” Boerner noted.
Customer Success Stories
When asking Boerner about a customer success story, he replied: “While I don’t have one specific story to share, a common point of success we run into is when customers realize how effortless it is to deploy Keep Aware in their organization. IT and security teams are overwhelmed with managing several integrations and agents, so when they learn that all they need to do is modify their browser settings, it becomes a great moment of realization and relief. The simplicity and ease of implementation that Keep Aware offers, without requiring active management, consistently resonates with our customers and contributes to their overall success.”
Funding
Keep Aware just announced that the company raised a $2.4 million seed round led by LiveOak Venture Partners in Austin, Texas. “I’ve been connecting with Creighton Hicks from LiveOak for the last year, and he and the LiveOak team have proven to be a great connection for us (even before the funding), so I’m extremely excited to be formal partners with them,” Boerner pointed out.
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is Keep Aware pursuing? “I like to think: ‘everyone with a web browser.’ Information workers can spend 90% of their workday in a web browser accessing sensitive data and systems, and I would say that metric is growing – everything we do is moving to the browser. We are currently focused on working with IT and security teams that invest in organizational protections like email and network security. Our customers represent several different verticals, validating that the browser blind spot exists across organizations of many industries and sizes,” Boerner assessed.
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates Keep Aware from its competition? “We’ve designed our browser security platform as a human-centric solution. Keep Aware recognizes the crucial roles of people and technology in security management, fostering a culture of shared responsibility and collective ownership throughout any organization. We combine the analysis of how information is presented to people and how they interact to create a solution that prevents threats at the point of click. Our solution then brings every employee into the security program and processes,” Boerner revealed.
Future Company Goals
What are some of Keep Aware’s future company goals? “Our analysis of how work takes place in the organization helps to prevent threats at the point-of-click. While the browser is a key piece and certainly where most of our clicks and actions take place, it’s just the start,” Boerner concluded. “We plan to work with early customers on building Keep Aware into their security programs, enriching the security stack and existing workflows, and contribute to a more transparent security culture.”
