One-Stop Cyber Security: Perseus is the new service platform  for Cyber Security tailored for the German Mittelstand

- Perseus is a first-of-its-kind service platform helping the German Mittelstand to handle their Cyber Security -  everything from prevention to insurance

- Customers sign up to the “perseus-Club” and get step-by-step support on that baffling and complex matter

- Perseus today launches a Beta-Version of the platform to deliver first value for their customers (basic training, emergency support) and will extend further insurtech-services (data-driven insurance coverages) in the near future

Berlin, 04.09.2017

Perseus is a newly born service platform backed by institutional investors, and aims to be the go-to partner for the German Mittelstand (SMEs) on all Cyber Security matters.

SMEs rarely have the time, resources and tools to independently take actions necessary to prevent data and information security related incidents, even though awareness of the existing threat is high. More than 70 percent of German companies were subjects  of cybercrime activities within the last two years, but only 1 out of 10 SMEs holds an insurance policy that covers the resulting damages.

The current market offerings are fragmented, being either vertical-focused or niche, techy products, that are hard for non-specialists to decypher. Steffen Teske, Co-Founder: “With Perseus, we offer a one-stop solution, that is easy to understand and to adopt for small and medium businesses. Our product will be based on the individual needs of our end-customers.”

Sven Weizenegger, Co-Founder: “Throwing security products into your organisation is not the answer. Businesses need to understand their cyber security exposure and be prepared in case of a breach. We not only provide training to prevent a breach, but also a cyber security incident management support in case a breach does happen. SMEs need a partner in emergency situations.”

Being a platform enables Perseus to connect the services and to offer best-of-fit (tech-)solutions. In the near future, the team plans to add an industry-specific cyber insurance proposition to the portfolio of their services. Co-Founder Inna Leontenkova states that the service concept can be compared to German automotive clubs. “We aim to support SMEs that deal with large amounts of personal data, and have been under pressure from  increasing numbers of cyber attacks recently like WannaCry or Petya. Most risk exposure comes from small things that employees do incorrectly, so we focus on prevention - the human side of cybersecurity. Our training  focusses especially on  employees. The membership model is an easy solution and economies of scale allow us to keep the fee low.”

Furthermore, in May 2018, a new EU regulation concerning treatment of private information, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), will come into effect. This means for instance that SMEs need to take care of a new form of information handling in case of cyber attacks. The fines for non-compliance will be coming up to  the higher of 4% or €20M of global revenues. Perseus can help in this matter to make SMEs ready for GDPR.

Perseus Co-Founders bring together deep expertise in cyber security, insurance and technology.

Sven Weizenegger has more than 15 years of working experience in cyber security, being the first hacker at T-Systems International GmbH, core project member of the Cyber Security Summit in cooperation with the Munich Security Conference and being the Senior Vice President Security of Kreditech. Inna Leontenkova spent 7 years at Aviva Insurance in London, followed by senior positions in Groupon GmbH and foodpanda. Most recently she was part of the founding team of digital insurer Element. Steffen Teske has a strong background in Saas and telecommunication, holding senior positions at BT (Germany) GmbH & Co oHG, LivePerson and building the Central European organisation for Zendesk.

The name of the new company was chosen in reference to the Perseus legend, a hero in  greek mythology. It is a strong metaphor for protection and security.