Sanctum Inc.
{{Short description|American information technology company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Sanctum Inc.
| logo = File:Sanctum logo.svg
| type = Private company
| predecessor = Perfecto Technologies
| founder = Gili Raanan and Eran Reshef
| defunct = 2006
| fate = Acquired by IBM
| area_served =
| key_people =
| industry = Software and information technology
| genre =
| products = AppShield and AppScan
| services =
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| aum =
| assets =
| equity =
| owner =
| num_employees =
| parent =
| divisions =
| subsid =
| footnotes =
| intl =
| foundation = 1997
| location_city = Santa Clara, California;
| location_country =
| location = Herzliya, Israel
| locations =
| homepage = [https://web.archive.org/web/20010202191800/http://www.sanctuminc.com/ www.sanctuminc.com] (archived)
}}
Sanctum Inc. was a Santa Clara, California-based information technology company focused on application security. Sanctum offered a firewall, AppShield, and scanner, AppScan, for application-layer security for Web environments.{{Cite web|url=http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/What-the-Watchfire-Sanctum-acquisition-means-for-Web-app-security|title=What the Watchfire-Sanctum acquisition means for Web app security|language=en-US|access-date=2016-09-12}}
In 2003 Sanctum was merged with Watchfire and the company was subsequently acquired by IBM.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/132617/article.html|title=IBM Buys Watchfire|website=PCWorld|access-date=2016-09-12|date=2007-06-06}}
History
Sanctum was founded in 1997 as Perfecto Technologies, by Eran Reshef and Gili Raanan.
The company released its first product AppShield in summer of 1999.{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9909/07/ecomm.hack.idg/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010508181818/http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9909/07/ecomm.hack.idg/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 8, 2001|title=CNN - New tool blocks wily e-comm hacker tricks - September 7, 1999|last=Messmer|first=Ellen|website=CNN|access-date=2016-09-12}}
The company has done an extensive research in application security and applying formal methods to real life software{{Cite book|title=FM'99 — Formal Methods|last1=Kesten|first1=Yonit|last2=Klein|first2=Amit|last3=Pnueli|first3=Amir|last4=Raanan|first4=Gil|date=1999-09-20|publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg|isbn=9783540665878|editor-last=Wing|editor-first=Jeannette M.|series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fm99formalmethod0000worl/page/173 173–194]|language=en|editor-last2=Woodcock|editor-first2=Jim|editor-last3=Davies|editor-first3=Jim|doi=10.1007/3-540-48119-2_12|s2cid=41193257 |url=https://archive.org/details/fm99formalmethod0000worl/page/173}} in collaboration with Turing Award winner Professor Amir Penueli. Early research in 1996 and 1997 led to the invention, in parallel to other teams, of CAPTCHA technology, and the application for a US patent for CAPTCHA.{{Cite patent|number=US20050114705A1|title=Method and system for discriminating a human action from a computerized action|gdate=2005-05-26|invent1=Reshef|invent2=Raanan|invent3=Solan|inventor1-first=Eran|inventor2-first=Gil|inventor3-first=Eilon|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US20050114705A1/en?q=discriminating&inventor=gil+raanan}}
In 2000 the company renamed itself to Sanctum.{{Cite web|url=http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-386089|title=Perfecto Changes Name to Sanctum - Globes English|website=Globes|date=21 June 2000 |access-date=2016-09-12}} The company was backed by investors Sequoia Capital, Intel Capital, Goldman Sachs, DLJ, Walden and Mofet.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/DLJ'S+Sprout+Group+Leads+$16+Million+Investment+in+Perfecto...-a058502258|title=DLJ'S Sprout Group Leads $16 Million Investment in Perfecto Technologies; Premier Venture Firm Backs eBusiness Security Software Company. - Free Online Library|website=www.thefreelibrary.com|access-date=2016-09-12}}
Products
The AppShield product was an early Web application Firewall.{{Cite web |title=Sanctum’s AppShield |url=https://www.networkworld.com/article/889812/software-sanctum-s-appshield.html |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=Network World |language=en}} AppShield was conceptualized by Eran Reshef and Gili Raanan and was introduced to the market in 1999.{{Cite web |date=27 August 1999 |title=Perfecto Technologies Delivers AppShield for E-Business - InternetNews. |url=http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/190571/Perfecto+Technologies+Delivers+AppShield+for+EBusiness.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421003828/https://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/190571/Perfecto+Technologies+Delivers+AppShield+for+EBusiness.htm |archive-date=2016-04-21 |access-date=2016-09-12 |website=www.internetnews.com}} AppShield worked by inspecting incoming HTTP requests and blocking malicious attacks based on a dynamic policy which was composed by analyzing the outgoing HTML pages.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9909/07/ecomm.hack.idg/index.html|title=CNN - New tool blocks wily e-comm hacker tricks - September 7, 1999|last=Messmer|first=Ellen|website=www.cnn.com|access-date=2016-09-12|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000411105516/http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9909/07/ecomm.hack.idg/index.html|archivedate=April 11, 2000}}{{Cite web|date=2002-12-31|title=Method and system for dynamic refinement of security policies|website=Google Patents|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US20030226038A1}}{{Cite web|date=1999-07-01|title=Method and system for extracting application protocol characteristics|website=Google Patents|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US6311278B1}} A 2002 ZDNet article noted that in the three years following its launch, it had been used by 60 Fortune 100 companies.{{Cite web |title=You need more than a firewall to stop hackers |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/you-need-more-than-a-firewall-to-stop-hackers/ |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=ZDNET |language=en}} Watchfire acquired Sanctum in 2004, and subsequently sold the intellectual property for AppShield to F5 Networks, which discontinued the product in favor of its competing TrafficShield product.{{Cite web |title=Game Over? - Information Security Magazine |url=http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/magazineContent/Game-Over |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215135829/http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com:80/magazineContent/Game-Over |archive-date=2014-12-15 |access-date=2016-09-12 |language=en-US}}
In June 2000 the company introduced AppScan the world's first Web Security Vulnerability Assessment solution.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sanctum+Introduces+AppScan%253A+Industry's+First+Automated+Web...-a062851146|title=Sanctum Introduces AppScan: Industry's First Automated Web Application Security Audit Tool. - Free Online Library|website=www.thefreelibrary.com|access-date=2016-09-12}} Among the first clients for AppScan were Yahoo!,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VxsEAAAAMBAJ|title=Network World|date=2000-06-19|publisher=IDG Network World Inc|language=en}} Bank of America and AT&T.{{Cite web|url=http://www.israel21c.org/sanctum-inc-cited-as-leader-in-key-web-security-sector/|title=Sanctum, Inc. cited as leader in key web security sector|date=5 August 2002 |access-date=2016-09-12}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1997 establishments in California
Category:2006 disestablishments in California
Category:2006 mergers and acquisitions
Category:American companies established in 1997
Category:American companies disestablished in 2006
Category:Computer companies established in 1997
Category:Computer companies disestablished in 2006
Category:Computer security software companies
Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States
Category:Defunct networking companies
Category:Defunct software companies of the United States