Perch Security

Perch Security, founded in 2016 by Aharon Chernin, emerged from the financial industry to address a critical gap in the cybersecurity market. The founding team, composed of former bankers, recognized that while a wealth of threat intelligence was available, most organizations, particularly small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), lacked the resources to effectively use it. This insight led to the creation of a platform designed to make advanced threat detection accessible without requiring dedicated security analysts or expensive on-premise hardware.

The company's journey was significantly shaped by its founder, Aharon Chernin, a seasoned information security professional with extensive experience in security automation. Before founding Perch, Chernin was the CTO at Soltra, a joint venture focused on threat intelligence sharing, and held key security roles at The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), where he led efforts in security automation and vulnerability management. This deep background in automating security frameworks and fostering intelligence sharing within critical infrastructure communities was foundational to Perch's core mission.

Perch operates as a co-managed threat detection and response platform, specifically targeting Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and the SMBs they serve. The business model combines a software platform with an in-house Security Operations Center (SOC). This allows Perch to function as an extension of an MSP's team, handling the initial analysis and triage of security events and escalating only actionable threats. This approach strips away the complexity and noise often associated with security alerts, allowing MSPs to offer advanced security services without building their own SOC from the ground up. Revenue was generated through this combined offering of software and managed services.

The core product is a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform designed with a multi-tenant architecture, enabling MSPs to manage and protect multiple clients from a single interface. Its unique selling proposition was its ability to aggregate and operationalize threat intelligence from various sources, correlating it with network and log data to detect threats. The platform integrated with existing security stacks, including firewalls and endpoint protection, as well as business tools like ConnectWise Manage and Datto Autotask PSA, to streamline responses. A significant milestone was a $9 million Series A funding round in October 2018, led by ConnectWise and Fishtech Group. This partnership deepened its integration within the MSP ecosystem. Ultimately, this close relationship culminated in Perch Security's acquisition by ConnectWise in November 2020, where it was integrated into the ConnectWise Fortify security management solution.

Keywords: co-managed threat detection, MDR, SIEM for MSPs, Security Operations Center, SOC services, threat intelligence sharing, Aharon Chernin, ConnectWise acquisition, multi-tenant security, cybersecurity automation, network threat detection, threat hunting, managed security services, MSP security tools, SMB cybersecurity, community defense platform, security information and event management, log aggregation, threat analysis, incident response