Cybersecurity firm Fortress lands Goldman Sachs investment

An Orlando supply chain firm has raised $125 million to support its efforts in cybersecurity.

Officials with Fortress Information Security, which launched in 2015, will use the new money to continue to protect critical U.S. industries from operational threats on supply chains.

The money comes primarily from the banking giant Goldman Sachs’ private equity business.

“This validates the hard work of our employees and clients who have brought collaborative cybersecurity to life,” Fortress CEO and cofounder Alex Santos said in a release. “This growth capital infusion will empower us to accelerate the execution of our vision of resilient supply chains.”

Supply chain security has become an increasingly important sector as more businesses and industries rely on Web-based tracking of shipping transactions.

Some government agencies have called supply chain cybersecurity a national security issue.

Last year, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, along with the North American Reliability Corporation, released supply chain cybersecurity guidelines for the first time.

“Supply chain cybersecurity is one of the most important challenges facing business and government leaders today. Supply chains represent a source of significant threats to the national economy and our ability to maintain our way of life,” said Peter Kassabov, executive chairman and co-founder of Fortress.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management managing director Will Chen said Fortress’ ability to establish itself as a market leader convinced the company to invest.

“The depth and breadth of the Fortress platform are unmatched and we believe there is a meaningful opportunity to accelerate the expansion of the platform into compelling product adjacencies, including software and hardware bill of materials, workflow orchestration, and additional analytics and reporting capabilities,” he said in the release.

Santos, Kassabov, ClearSky, First Analysis, American Electric Power, Caron Capital, KMMT and Moquin Capital remain investment partners with Fortress.