揮之不去的黑客威脅對企業來說是個禍害，但對網絡安全公司來說則是個“福音”。總部設在波士頓的威脅情報服務商Recorded Future就是一個鮮活的例子，它剛剛完成E輪融資，從Insight Venture Partners獲得2500萬美元業務擴展資金。

Recorded Future從事監視所謂“暗網”的小眾業務。犯罪分子在這個網絡中碰頭，目的是策劃網絡攻擊并將盜取的個人和公司信息賣出去。

據首席執行官克里斯托弗·阿爾伯格介紹，Recorded Future目前的客戶來自22個不同的垂直領域。以前該公司的服務對象只有政府和金融行業客戶，現在從小型零售商到航空公司，各行各業都開始購買暗網情報。

Recorded Future發現威脅的途徑之一是雇傭“間諜”并將其安插在與犯罪有關的網絡聊天室中，包括那些俄羅斯黑客常去的聊天室，進而探聽他們的攻擊目標。作為Flashpoint和Digital Shadows等同行的競爭對手，Recorded Future還借助人工智能技術來進行監視。

阿爾伯格說，《財富》2000強中排名靠后的小公司對Recorded Future的需求不斷增長，來自現有客戶的需求也是如此，他們正在把威脅情報工具整合到自身業務的各個部門中。他還透露，Recorded Future正在和Splunk等數據和分析領域巨頭展開合作。

阿爾伯格沒有提供具體財務信息，但表示Recorded Future的收入為“中等八位數”，年增長率一直保持在100%。他還說，該公司即將出現正現金流。

同時，黑客的威脅不大可能很快消退。

阿爾伯格指出，盜取自美國國家安全局等政府情報部門的強大黑客工具在一定程度上成了最近一些威脅因素的推手，包括剛剛出現的壞兔子（Bad Rabbit）勒索病毒。現在朝鮮等“流氓國家”以及普通犯罪團伙都在使用這些工具。

他還警告說，網絡攻擊在國際關系中正變得越發普遍，原因是政府借網絡攻擊來實現外交目的。

阿爾伯格說：“網絡和政治以及戰爭的結合正在成為現實。如果你相信克勞塞維茨（普魯士將軍，曾說‘戰爭是政治以其他形式的延續’），那么2016年的美國總統大選就只是個開始。我們的俄羅斯朋友已經就此演練了一段時間了。”（財富中文網）

譯者：Charlie

The ongoing threat of hackers is a menace to companies, but is a boon for cybersecurity companies. A case in point is Recorded Future, a threat intelligence service based in Boston, which just raised $25 million in a Series E fundraising round from Insight Venture Partners to expand its operations.

The firm has a niche in monitoring the so-called “dark web,” where crooks meet to plot cyber attacks and to sell the information they rip off from consumers and companies.

According to CEO Christopher Ahlberg, Recorded Future now has clients in 22 different industry verticals. Whereas it once served only government and the financial sector customers, everyone from smaller retailers to the airline industry is now signing up for dark web intelligence.

One way Recorded Future discovers threats is by hiring moles who hang out in criminal chatrooms, including those popular with Russian hackers, and learning about their targets. The firm, which competes with the likes of Flashpoint and Digital Shadows, also relies on artificial intelligence technology to carry out the monitoring.

According to Ahlberg, Recorded Future is facing growing demand from smaller firms further down the Fortune 2000 list, and from existing clients who are now incorporating threat intelligence tools into different parts of their operations. He added the firm is also partnering with tech giants like Splunk that specialize in data and analytics.

Ahlberg did not provide precise financial information, but said Recorded Future’s revenues are “in the mid-eight figures” and that it has enjoyed 100% year-over-year growth. He added the company is close to being cash-flow positive.

Meanwhile, the threat of hackers is unlikely to recede anytime soon.

Ahlberg said the latest wave of threats, including the current wave of ransomware attacks known as Bad Rabbit, is partly driven by the theft of powerful hacking tools from government spy agencies like the NSA. These tools are now being deployed both by rogue nation states like North Korea and by common criminal gangs.

Ahlberg also warned that cyber attacks are becoming more common in international relations as countries use them to further foreign policy goals.

“The mix of cyber with politics and warfare is coming true,”Ahlberg said. “If you believe Clausewitz (the Prussian general who said ‘War is continuation of politics by other means’) then the U.S. 2016 election was just the beginning. This is something our Russian friends have been practicing for a while.”